SBI opens first branch for startups in Bengaluru | Rare Techy

India’s largest lender SBI on Tuesday opened its first startup branch in Bengaluru, which will be dedicated to financing and supporting early-stage entrepreneurs in setting up new companies up to listing them on the stock exchange.

State Bank of India (SBI), while inaugurating ‘SBI Startup Branch’ in Koramangala, said the facility comes under an agreement between the Karnataka government and SBI to further strengthen the state’s startup ecosystem.

Karnataka ranks as the best state in the country in terms of startup ecosystem and creating new avenues for them to access credit and funding, SBI said in a statement.

“It is the first in the country to provide funding to support the growth of start-ups, facilitating entrepreneurs to realize their dreams,” Ashwath Narayan CN, Minister of Higher Education; IT & BT, Science & Technology; Development, Enterprise and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka, said on Twitter, the release said.

Especially for beginners

The dedicated branch for startups will provide services such as loans, cash, transaction banking, foreign and domestic payments, funds, money management, forex, insurance, security services, capital market and legal advisory, construction, demat and trading.

The lender said this branch will be a hub for various parties involved in the startup ecosystem and provide end-to-end financial and advisory services.

In addition, the branch will leverage SBI’s large presence in the market by bringing synergy between all the bank’s various entities to provide one-stop solution to these companies and startups from establishment to IPOs and FPOs of companies. . , SBI said.

“The needs of startups are unique, and personalized financial services and offerings will meet them. Besides VC (Venture Capital) funding, credit facilities from banks play an important complementary role in ensuring capital adequacy for startups. It opens up new horizons. startups in the state,” said Prashanth Prakash, Chairman, Vision Group for Startups, Karnataka government, and Founding Partner, Accel.

Karnataka has been recognized as the best performer in the Central Government’s Startup Ranking-2021 for developing a strong startup ecosystem through comprehensive and inclusive policies for sector-wide incentives, regulatory sandboxes and support for innovation in disruptive sectors.

SBI said it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) to enhance the dominant startup ecosystem for the state. Subsequently, SBI will also explore and open initial branches in three clusters (Mysore, Mangalore and Hubblli-Belagavi) to facilitate and support acquisitions established from these clusters.

The southern state is said to have a balanced ecosystem of IT and IT services, electronics, biotechnology, and innovation that includes more than 13,000 startups and 58 incubation centers.