The serving to hand of banks to Tamil Nadu’s startup ecosystem

In response to rising demand and curiosity from entrepreneurs, banks headquartered in Tamil Nadu are actually increasing their community by opening extra branches and specialised cells to assist the startups.

For a few years, banks have performed a vital function in supporting the startup ecosystem. Now, they’re additionally partnering with extra incubators and academic establishments.

Indian Abroad Financial institution (IOB), by its startup department, has established sturdy community with numerous stakeholders by District Industries Centre (DIC), Nationwide Credit score Assure Trustee Firm Restricted (NCGTC) (for credit score assure protection) and State authorities company.

IOB Managing Director and CEO Ajay Kumar Srivastava stated: “The networking and liaising has resulted in numerous inquiries coming in from throughout India. In view of the identical, the financial institution is planning to encourage principal branches in startup hubs like Bengaluru, Mysuru, Gurugram and others to faucet the chance by providing collateral free loans by protection underneath CGSS (Credit score Assure Scheme for Begin Ups) or CGTMSE.”

The financial institution has already launched a tailored scheme for startups by the identify ‘IOB Pragati’ which it plans to propagate in main centres, he stated. Until date, IOB has supported 22 startups with a complete funding of ₹73.84 crore. The funding is within the type of each time period mortgage for mounted capital requirement and money credit score for working capital requirement of assorted companies. The sectors financed by the financial institution embrace EV manufacturing, biotech, medical tools manufacturing, software program and IT, meals and drinks.

Chennai-headquartered Indian Financial institution is planning to increase its startup department community past its present ten places.

A view of the Indian Financial institution at Royapettah in Chennai. File
| Picture Credit score:
R. Ragu

At present, the financial institution has 10 devoted Startup Cells throughout main innovation hubs together with Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gurugram, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Mumbai. As of Could 2025, Indian Financial institution has prolonged monetary help to over 139 startups, overlaying numerous sectors akin to healthcare, schooling, client providers and eco-friendly product innovation.

Cumulatively it has disbursed over ₹340 crore underneath the ‘Ind Spring Board’ scheme, which was designed to supply tailor-made, collateral-light financing options based mostly on the money stream potential and enterprise viability of the startup, not simply asset backing.

Indian Financial institution’s roadmap consists of partnering with extra incubators and State startup missions to deepen grassroots entry apart from exploration of partnerships with enterprise capitalists, fintechs and educational establishments to supply end-to-end assist, from ideation to scale-up. The financial institution additionally has a robust community with the IIT-Madras Incubation Cell.

The collaboration with IIT-Madras Incubation Cell was formalized in 2023 underneath the Ind Spring Board initiative, with the goal of leveraging their deep-tech ecosystem and co-creating scalable funding options. Via this strategic partnership, the financial institution participates in demo days and pitch occasions hosted by IIT-M.