Due to the start-up friendly policies of Madhya Pradesh government, the state is becoming a hub of start-ups. Madhya Pradesh is one of the leading states in the country which provides a world-class ecosystem for start-ups. According to the Start-up Blink report, Indore is on the 14th position and Bhopal is at 29th position in the country. More than 2500 start-ups of Madhya Pradesh are registered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Government of India. Out of these, more than 1100 start-ups are run by women entrepreneurs. Apart from this, more than 45 incubators are continuously working in the state to develop early stage start-ups. The incubation center of the Ministry of Textiles and Apparel of the Central Government is in Gwalior.
To give momentum to the start-up movement in the country and to meet the objectives of the Atma-nirbhar Madhya Pradesh Roadmap 2023, the state government has launched the “MP Start-up Policy and Implementation Plan 2022”. With this, the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation is being promoted among the public along with further improving the existing ecosystem of Madhya Pradesh. The objective of the scheme is to make the state a leader in the ‘'Start-up Ranking’. For this, ‘MP Start-up Center (MPSC)' has been set up, while setting up a single window agency for start-ups and incubators. MPSC provides mentorship to start-ups and helps them get approvals and raise capital. Any start-up can get help directly from them. MPSC aggregates market intelligence from multiple sources to provide valuable information about the ecosystem players. Market intelligence is used to re-evaluate the activities of the government, which will prove useful for the upcoming policies of the state.
MPSC has taken several important steps to promote start-ups in 2022. The agency has provided financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh and above to 21 start-ups. This assistance is being used for entering new markets, product development, scaling up businesses and many more. The assistance is provided not only on monetary terms but also for marketing and promotion of the company. MPSC has facilitated many start-ups to participate in major domestic and international events to promote products/services and find new customers. The agency is looking at implementing the start-up policy holistically. Special emphasis is being laid by MPSC on capacity building by organizing two day boot camps in colleges and universities to educate the youth population. The Boot Camp will provide exposure to the latest technology topics to enable the youth to realize their entrepreneurial potential.
The state government is also planning to invest Rs 10 crore in 5 Indian AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds), which will invest manifold in the state’s start-ups. The state encourages incubators and start-ups through several schemes. Start-ups are given assistance up to Rs 60 lakh. The state also provides additional support to women-led start-ups to empower women. Apart from general incentives, special incentives are being given to product based start-ups.
The approach of the State is in line with the need of the start-ups today. Madhya Pradesh serves as a unique opportunity for domestic and international start-ups with skilled talent pool, sizable domestic consumer market and state-of-the-art infrastructure.
During the ‘Invest Madhya Pradesh, Global Investors Summit-2023’ to be held in Indore on January 11 and 12, 2023, a special session on ‘MP Start-up Ecosystem’ will be organized, in which detailed information about the government’s policies and plans will be given.