T-Hub, which leads India's pioneering innovation ecosystem, today announced the launch of its funding program T-Angel. A joint initiative by T-Hub and the Telangana state government, T-Angel is designed and will be executed by T-Hub with LetsVenture'sfunding platform support. The program will empower and enable the early-stage investment ecosystem through angel investments in the state of Telangana. This is the first phase of a series of funding focused programs to boost the investment ecosystem in Telangana.
T-Angel is a three-month investment acceleration program. As many as 30 startups with the leading-edge solutions in healthcare, real estate, entertainment, sports, education and finance will be shortlisted. The program for the first batch of chosen startups will commence on 20 October 2019. Startups will be shortlisted from hundreds of applications after an extensive screening process. Applications will open on 29 August 2019 https://t-hub.co/T-angel/ and will close on 30 September 2019.
Ravi Narayan, CEO, T-Hub said, "Startups in Telangana have the potential to grow rapidly, provided they raise funds at the right times. Simultaneously there are many local high worth individuals who can contribute to the growth story of start-ups by becoming an angel investor. T-Angel a joint initiative by Telangana government and T-Hub to create a robust investment ecosystem for the state. The program will speed up startups collaborations with investors across the world with support from LetsVenture."
The batch of 30 startups will need to go through regular interventions through boot camps and dedicated mentoring to build a strong investment case, which helps them eventually to raise capital. Top 10 startups out of the 30 per batch will receive funding. The 10 shortlisted startups will be listed on LetsVenture's investment platform, which has helped over 190 startups raise over $85 million in the last 6 years investors. T-Hub aims to secure investments for a minimum of 10 startups out of the 30 shortlisted per batch.
Multiple angels will come together to invest in startups via T-Angel. Additionally, the program aims to make a high net worth individuals and startup enthusiasts to become angel Investors in Telangana Ecosystem.
Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary Industries and IT, Telangana State said, "Over the last three years, the Telangana government has been constantly building the right elements to create an ecosystem for startups that allows them to scale with speed. The quantum of funds received by startups in Telangana has grown significantly too, we now see this only increases with the quality of startups the state has gathered. Now is the right time to attract global VCs and Angel Investors, and ensure both startups and investors progress. T-Angel is an initiative in that direction. T-Hub will be leading this program which is the first phase of a series of funding focused programs by the government that will boost the investment ecosystem in Telangana".
Shanti Mohan, Founder, CEO at LetsVenture said "We are excited for our partnership with a credible brand like T-Hub. LetsVenture as a market leader in early-stage startup investment will work closely in this T-Angel program with the first batch of a startup with the objective of making them investor ready. With our experience in developing the angel community and systemic intervention via our tech-enabled platform we look forward to being part of the initiative towards building the ecosystem through T-Angels".
The startups must meet the following eligibility criteria to apply:
- Should be a registered company looking to raise first/initial rounds of capital
- Should have a product that is launched in the public domain
- Should have initial market traction
- Should have a full-fledged team and paying customers
- Should be registered in the state of Telangana or intend to move operations to Telangana in due course
Benefits that the startups will get from the program:
- Progress tracking for three months in a structured manner
- Bootcamps that are driven by workshops to make the startup's investment ready
- Access to local and national investment partners
- Access to online pitch review sessions
- Interactions of a one-on-one nature with our dedicated pool of mentors, investors and partners
- Support for post-graduation
- Support from high-level mentors and experts for 12 hours
- Opportunity to pitch at the grand finale of T-Day, Hyderabad's biggest innovation event
- Support in digital infrastructure from T-Hub's various service providers like Azure, Zoho, AWS
- No Equity
