LetsVenture to Invest Around INR 80 Lacs in Start-ups with MeitY

LetsVenture Foundation will collaborate with MeitY Startup Hub to fund up to USD 100,000 in  indian start-ups through the government's SAMRIDH startup accelerator programme. In the first phase, the foundation will invest in eight firms.The alliance will primarily invest in companies in several fields such as deeptech, gamingtech, fintech, and software-as-a-service (SaaS).LetsVenture made the news on the sidelines of its flagship conference, LetsIgnite.

According to the company, it will issue a call for applications at the event itself. On the occasion, MeitY start-up hub CEO Jitendra Vijay said that investment is a vital component for companies to scale, and having a scheme in place where investors offer matching funding can have a big impact on the success of the startups. LetsVenture's expertise and deep network of investors will provide the required support for these business founders to acquire finance and create effective solutions.

LetsVenture will work with the selected startups to eliminate operational inefficiencies that founders confront. The chosen firms will also be onboarded to the syndication firm's SaaS-based solution called Scalix, which will aid them with hiring, legal, finance, and technological challenges, among other things.

Furthermore, LetsVenture will assist startups in raising their next round of investment and providing access to additional entrepreneurs and investors.

LetsVenture Co-founder and CEO Shanti Mohan quoted, “India is well poised to be at the global epicentre for startups and technology innovation. To power this change, various players need to come together to collaborate, support and accelerate this growth engine and we believe that our partnership with the MeitY startup hub is in the right direction.”

SAMRIDH (Startup Accelerators of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth), which was launched in August of last year, is the Centre's flagship programme that aims to provide support and finance to early-stage entrepreneurs.

As part of the programme, the government would match the accelerator's funding in order to boost the country's early-stage business ecosystem. The initiative is administered by MeitY Startup Hub (MSH). The MSH now has 3,161 businesses and 473 incubators registered.

LetsVenture, founded in 2013 by Shanti Mohan and Sanjay Jha, is a startup investment marketplace that allows investors to discover and invest in businesses through its unique technology platform. Companies listed on LetsVenture have raised USD120 million in over 560 rounds since its start. On its website, LetsVenture claims to have 29 syndicates and over 13,000 angel investors.

LetsVenture is funded by notable investors including Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Ratan Tata, and Mohandas Pai, among others. In the first seven months of 2022, Indian entrepreneurs raised USD19.7 billion in funding, a decrease of 8 per cent from the same time previous year, when startups raised USD21.26 billion. The sole bright spot in the midst of the "financial cold" looks to be seed-stage investment.

Mohan last month launched Propell, a micro venture capital (VC) firm that will invest INR 50 crore in 30 early-stage software startups. AWE Funds also created an INR 350 Cr women-focused fund earlier this month to support early and growth stage entrepreneurs in the country. Furthermore, 15 Indian early-stage firms were accepted into the summer edition of Y-biennial Combinator's cohort for 2022.