TANSEED 4.0

Description

Hello from StartupTN Team !! 

Deadline Extended till 31.8.2022

We are delighted to announce the launch of the fourth edition of our flagship initiative “TANSEED” (Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund). TANSEED provides a seed fund support up to INR.10 Lakhs as a grant to budding startup entrepreneurs in their early stages of the company.  TANSEED aims to bridge the gap in fund requirements of startups during their early stages.

The grant is given based on a rigorous evaluation process as mentioned in the MSME(A) G.O.(Ms) No.49 guidelines. Out of the applications received, top startups are shortlisted after the first level of evaluation. These startups go through boot camps, training, and mock pitching sessions. These selected startups make a final pitch to a jury of an esteemed panel consisting of the Mission Director, a Nominee from the Finance Department, successful entrepreneurs, Venture Capital firm partners, Angel Investors, and domain experts. Finalists of the Final Pitch get awarded with grants of INR 10 Lakhs each. 

Registration:  22nd July 2022 to 31st August 2022

The first three editions of TANSEED supported 60 startup beneficiaries from hundreds of applications received in each edition. The Honourable Chief Minister Thiru. M.K. Stalin handed over cheques to beneficiaries of the second edition of TANSEED in December 2021. The Honourable CM will soon be handing over cheques to 31 beneficiaries of TANSEED 3.0.

Please check out the detailed Eligibility Criteria & Evaluation Criteria in the next section.

Feel free to reach us at tanseed@startuptn.in for any query.

Link to apply: Registration Form

Eligibility Criteria

1. The entity should be a Startup registered with TANSIM and STARTUP INDIA. It shall be located & headquartered in Tamil Nadu or willing to relocate the registered office to Tamil Nadu.
2. The entity should be registered as a Private Limited Company (under Companies Act 2013), or a Limited Liability Partnership (Under Limited Liability Partnership Act 2008), or a registered Partnership firm (under Partnership Act 1932).
3. The average profit of the entity (as per income tax return) for the last 3 years (or lesser in case it’s a newly registered entity) shall be less than Rs.5 Lakh.
4. Working towards innovation, development, or improvement of products or processes with a high potential of employment generation, social impact, or wealth creation.
5. The entity should not have been formed by splitting up, reconstruction of a business already in existence, or as a Subsidiary/Joint Venture/Associate of another Company.
6. The startup should have cleared all / not have any other pending dues with any of the Government agencies and shall not be blacklisted by any Government agency in India.
7. Applicant has to be an Indian start-up. This support is not meant for Indian Subsidiaries of MNCs/Foreign Companies. Persons holding Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) would be considered as Indian citizens for the purpose of this scheme. The shareholding by Indian promoters in the incubated Startup should be at least 51%.
8. The Seed Grant is not generally given for service Startups working in Trade and Commerce.
9. The seed fund shall be funding the development of the prototype or a product which is market-ready / of small level pilot production only and shall not be for regular research which any University or College can foster.
10. StartupTN reserves all rights in adding additional conditions / modifying existing conditions on a case-to-case basis. 

Areas covered under the Grant:

The Startups would be supported primarily on the following:

1. to develop a prototype or working model to demonstrate the proposed technology solution and also cover the cost of equipment rental.
2. Hiring technical mentors to aid and assist in prototype creation.
3. Manpower for product development.(Not more than 30% of Grant)
4. Test Marketing
5. Testing, certification, and trials.
6. Any other expenses deemed fit by the TANSEED Expert Committee.

Following expenditures will not be supported by the grant

1. Remuneration of the founding team. [Founding team includes anyone with beneficial ownership of more than 10% during the grant program]
2. Any administrative expenses such as office rent, daily travel, and conveyance, personal use equipment such as mobile phones, laptops etc. 
3. Repay any loans or investments made by the founding team or any other person in the venture to date.  
4. Pure research projects that intends to demonstrate scientific principles/techniques etc. 
5. Ideas with no intention of commercialization i.e. to convert into marketable technology/products/services. 
6. Innovations with serious ethical and safety risks deemed infeasible by experts and have serious pollution and health implications
7. Funding cannot be used to support student /faculty research or any other academic research.

Shortlisting Criteria:

1. The startup must be working on an innovative product or technology and not involved in pure service delivery.
2. Problem Identification and impact of the solution.
3. Potential for scaling up and employment creation.
4. Commitment, expertise & pedigree of the team. 
5. The depth of research done on the identified problem.
6. If the startup has any dues with TANSIM, that needs to be cleared before availing the fund. 
7. Business plan and usage of Fund – Clear deliverables and outcomes have to be mentioned by startups in their application. The shortlisting will be based on the quality of the business plan provided. Product-market fit, early customer feedback, technological capability of startup team to execute the project are some of the factors considered for shortlisting.
8. Funds received by the applicant like grants, prize money and other financial modes will also be taken into consideration before sanction. Priority will be given to those startups who have not received any fund.
9. The shortlisted Startups will then pitch to the TANSEED Expert / High Level Committee, who will recommend if the Startups are worth funding.