SBI opens its first branch for start-ups in Bengaluru; Mysore, Mangalore next

The country’s largest lender SBI on Tuesday opened its first-ever start-up branch in Bengaluru, which will be dedicated to funding and supporting early-stage entrepreneurs in setting up new companies till their listing on stock exchanges.

State Bank of India (SBI), while inaugurating the SBI Start-Up Branch at Koramangala, said the facility comes under a pact between the Karnataka government and SBI to further boost the states start-up ecosystem.

Karnataka has been ranked the best state in the country in terms of the start-up ecosystem and creating new avenues for them to access credit and funding, SBI said in a release.

“It is the first in the country to provide financing to support start-up growth, facilitating entrepreneurs all the way to realise their dreams,” Ashwath Narayan C N, Minister for Higher Education; IT & BT, Science & Technology; Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood, the government of Karnataka, said on Twitter, the release said.

The exclusive branch for start-ups will provide services such as loans, deposits, transaction banking, outward and inward remittances, payments, cash management, forex, insurance, custodial services, capital market and legal advisory, structuring, demat and trading.

The lender said this branch will be a hub for various stakeholders involved in the start-up ecosystem and cater to end-to-end financial and advisory services.

Further, the branch will leverage the large presence of SBI in the market by bringing synergy among all entities and various departments of the bank to offer a one-stop solution to these corporates and start-ups starting from the formation of the entity till IPOs and FPOs of the companies, SBI said.

Also Read: SBI raises benchmark lending rates by up to 50 basis points

“The needs of start-ups are unique, and customised financial offerings and services would make them more accessible. Beyond VC (Venture Capital) funding, credit facility from banks plays a significant complementary role in ensuring capital adequacy for start-ups. It opens up new vistas for start-ups in the state,” Prashanth Prakash, Chairman, Vision Group for Start-ups, the government of Karnataka, and Founding Partner, Accel, said.

Karnataka has been adjudged the best performer in the Central government’s States Start-up Ranking-2021 for developing a strong start-up ecosystem through holistic and inclusive policies for sector-focused incentives, regulatory sandboxes and supporting innovation in disruptive sectors.

SBI said it entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) to boost the prevailing start-up ecosystem for the state.

Subsequently, SBI will also explore and open start-up branches across three clusters (Mysore, Mangalore and Hubballi-Belagavi) to facilitate and support start-ups based out of these clusters.

The southern state is said to have a balanced ecosystem of IT and IT-enabled services, electronics, biotechnology, and innovation housing more than 13,000 start-ups and 58 incubation centres.

(With inputs from agencies)