Samridh Scheme: Empowering Startups With Funding & Growth Support

In today’s world, startups play an important role in harbouring innovation. It is one of those sectors that pave the way for job creation and overall economic growth and development of a country, especially a rich and large country like India. Startups often help bring new products and services to the market and break the old traditional patterns. However, many early-stage startups face a wide range of problems such as limited capital, market resources, and others that hinder their growth and risk their survival.

In response to these issues, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched the SAMRIDH scheme (Sustainable Access to Markets and Resources for Innovative Delivery of Healthcare) in 2021. The SAMRIDH startup scheme aims to accelerate the growth of early-stage startups by providing them with financial assistance, technical guidance, and mentorship.

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What Is The SAMRIDH Scheme?

The SAMRIDH scheme (Sustainable Access to Markets and Resources for Innovative Delivery of Healthcare) was launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in 2021 to support early-stage startups, especially startups in the software sector. The govt scheme provides startups with matching funding of up to Rs. 40 lakhs along with technical guidance and mentorship. The SAMRIDH startup scheme is designed to promote innovation in various sectors like health tech, ED tech, fin-tech, and SaaS.

The government scheme offers comprehensive support including business planning, customer acquisition, networking with potential investors, and product development. The SAMRIDH initiative is a part of India’s broader goal to promote entrepreneurship and strengthen the country’s tech ecosystem. The government aims to accelerate 300 startups in 4 years and boost the startup sector.

Objective

The SAMRIDH startup scheme has various objectives but the primary objective is to promote the growth rate of startups in the country. Some of the other key objectives are:

• Foster innovation: The SAMRIDH scheme for startups aims to nurture innovation and help startups develop fresh and innovative market-ready products.

• Healthy startup ecosystem: The SAMRIDH startup scheme is focused on creating a sustainable and healthy ecosystem for startups where they grow and flourish.

• Targeted sectors: The SAMRIDH scheme for software startups focus on tech-driven sectors like health tech, ed-tech, fin-tech, SaaS, etc. to promote technology-oriented solutions to modern-day problems.

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Benefits

There are various benefits of the SAMRIDH scheme for startups that help startups grow and contribute to the country’s overall development and growth. Some of the key benefits are:

• Financial assistance: Startups receive matching funding of up to Rs. 40 lakh and help them scale operations, develop products, and enhance market readiness.

• Guidance: The SAMRIDH startup scheme provides startups with the guidance of professional mentors in business planning, market-fit analysis, customer acquisition, and fund management.

• Expansion: The SAMRIDH scheme for software startups works on empowering startups and helping them expand internationally by using all the benefits the scheme provides.

• Support from collaborators: The SAMRIDH scheme for startups collaborates with leading accelerators like India Accelerator and T-Hub to ensure that early-stage startups receive tailored guidance and support.

Eligibility Criteria

Entrepreneurs of startups need to ensure that their entity fits into the eligibility criteria to avoid the rejection of applications for the SAMRIDH scheme for startups. The eligibility criteria are as follows:

• Startups should be in their early stages.

• Startups should work in health tech, ed-tech, fin-tech, SaaS, and sustainability sectors.

• Startups should demonstrate the ability to scale with matching funding and have a sound financial plan.

Experience & Expertise Required For The SAMRIDH Scheme

In addition to the eligibility criteria, entrepreneurs of the startups need to ensure that they possess two key skills before applying for the SAMRIDH scheme for software startups:

• Innovative product development: Startups should have a market-ready or near-market-ready product or they should be working on solving critical challenges in the world of tech.

• Management expertise: Founders and team members must exhibit strong business management knowledge and capabilities.

Application Process

Interested and eligible startups can apply for the SAMRIDH scheme for software startups by following the steps mentioned below:

Step 1: Visit the official website of MeitY.

Step 2: Click on the ‘Apply’ option, fill in the necessary details about your startup, and upload the relevant documents for completing the application.

Documents Required

Interested and eligible startups need to upload some relevant documents to complete their application. The documents are as follows:

• Detailed Acceleration Plan

• Other related documents outlining the list of mentors, registration certificate of the accelerator, and audited financial statements.

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Highlights Of The First & Second Cohort Of The SAMRIDH Scheme

Impact Of The SAMRIDH Scheme To Date

• Startups: As of 2024, the SAMRIDH scheme for startups has successfully supported 175 startups through 22 accelerators in its first cohort. The second cohort aims to support 125 more, to accelerate a total of 300 startups.

• Expansion of accelerators: The SAMRIDH startup scheme is working on creating partnerships among existing and new accelerators to mentor more startups across various sectors to ensure they receive support and guidance.

• Employment generation: The scheme promotes job creation by nurturing startups that have the potential to scale and contribute to India’s employment situation, especially in the tech-driven economy.

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Conclusion

The SAMRIDH scheme (Sustainable Access to Markets and Resources for Innovative Delivery of Healthcare), launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is a well-rounded initiative to increase the rate of growth of tech startups by providing them with funding, mentorship, and other support.

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Government Sources

Official website: https://www.meity.gov.in/

Contact Information: https://www.meity.gov.in/contact-us