Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal at a start-up conclave organised by Kerala Financial Corporation in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC) will increase the collateral-free loan limit for start-ups from the present ₹10 crore to ₹ 15 crore, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal said on Thursday.
Inaugurating the KFC Startup Conclave 2024 here, Mr. Balagopal said the collateral-free loans for scaling up start-ups will have a new limit of ₹3 crore compared to the previous ₹2 crore.
The KFC Startup Conclave 2024 was held to foster innovation and collaboration within Kerala’s start-up ecosystem, KFC officials said. Through the ‘KFC Startup Kerala’ scheme, KFC has been supporting start-ups. To date, it has provided 61 technology-based start-ups with ₹78.52 crore in loans. This year, the institution plans to assist an additional 100 start-ups.
KFC chairperson and managing director Sanjay Kaul said KFC has recorded growth and financial stability over the past three financial years. Net profit rose by 957.14% (from ₹6.58 crore to ₹74.04 crore) and the loan portfolio expanded from ₹4,621.12 crore to ₹ 7,368.32 crore, he said.
Awards were presented to start-ups on the occasion. Navalt Solar and Electric Boats Pvt Ltd won the Green Energy Startup of the Year award, while Genrobotic Innovations Pvt Ltd received the Social Impactor of the Year award. Wizycom Nurture Pvt Ltd and Katha Infocom Pvt Ltd won the Edutech Startup of the Year and Emerging Startup of the Year awards, respectively.
District panchayat president D. Suresh Kumar presided. Anoop Ambika, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission; G. Bhuvaneshwari, chief general manager, SBI; S.N. Raghuchandran Nair, president, Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Arun Nair, executive director, TiE Kerala, were among those present.