Market regulator SEBI has approved an angel fund of $10 million for the country\u2019s first telecom incubator, Start-up Village Kochi to address the problem of resource crunch for start-up companies across the country. The fund that could go up to $20 million with a \u201cgreen shoe\u201d (over-allotment) option will be used for telecom and internet firms. The investing will start once $2 million initial cost is achieved.<\/p>\n
Consultancy KPMG is the advisor and ILFS is trustee of the fund based at Start-up Village.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe angel fund will be investing not only in the most promising start-ups located in Start-up Village but also in similar enterprises across the country. We are looking to broad base the investor profile with a large set of angel investors, many of whom might be first time angel investors in India,\u201d said the Start-up Village chairman Sanjay Vijayakumar.<\/p>\n
Infosys co-founder and Start-up Village chief mentor Kris Gopalakrishnan, Ravi Pillai, founder of the 16,000-crore Bahrain-based RP Group, MobME<\/a> India’s first campus telecom start-up and other leading investors in the country will contribute to the fund.<\/p>\n Since the funds are investing at a very early stage, emphasis will be given to entrepreneur and the team, and less on the idea. Welcoming the Sebi\u2019s approval, Kris Gopalakrishnan said this will help Start-up Village to become the first incubator in the country to have its own in-house fund.<\/p>\n