SR Innovation Exchange receives Rs 5.25 crore NIDHI-SSS seed grant from Department of Science & Technology

Forms NIDHI-SSS monitoring committee comprising of successful entrepreneurs and technologists to scrutinize and shortlist startups from across the country.

SR Innovation Exchange (SRiX), Technology Business Incubator in SR University, Warangal today announced Rs 5.25 crore NIDHI-SSS seed grant from the Department of Science & Technology (GoI) to nurture early-stage startups.  

NIDHI-SSS grant empowers the startups financially in meeting varied needs that include successful positioning of the product in the market, test marketing, acquiring new customers, team building, revenue management, technology and business mentorship, business planning, design & marketing support, and IPR expertise. 

“Seed funding or seed stage funding is a very early investment which aims at helping a business grow and generating its own capital. Investments from VCs/Angels are highly competitive and not every startup has access to the right platform at the right time. Banks also prefer providing loans to companies that show significant traction and sustainable success for a period of time. To enable a wider range of startups to be investment ready and nurture them to be eligible for investments, an interim investment like NIDHI-SSS (Seed Support System), that will not put the startup team under pressure, is necessary,” said Sreedevi Devireddy, CEO, SR Innovation Exchange, SR University.

“The seed support is positioned to act as a bridge between the development stage of the startup and commercializationstage. Such financial impetus will boost the startup’s morale and enable it to race forward with positive motivation and maximum performance. We are typically looking for early revenue stage tech startups which have a market ready product” she added. 

“We are thankful to the DST for entrusting us with this responsibility to find passionate entrepreneurs and support them with seed grant. This has come at a crucial time when entrepreneurs are going through tough times due to the pandemic. We have formed a NIDHI-SSS monitoring committee comprising of successful entrepreneurs and technologists to scrutinize and shortlist startups for funding. Last year, we supported eight entrepreneurs with prototyping fund to the tune of Rs 44 lakhs received from MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology). In just 3  years SRiX has created a vibrant innovation ecosystem and is fostering entrepreneurship amongst startups, student innovators and rural innovators. ” added Dr G R C Reddy, Vice Chancellor, SR University.

“The sole objective of the NIDHI-Seed Support System (NIDHI-SSS) which is under DST is to ensure timely availability of the seed support to the deserving incubatedstartups within an incubator, thereby enabling them to take their venture to next level and facilitate towards their success in the marketplace. We are looking forward to success stories of innovative startups from SR Innovation Exchange,” said DrAnita Gupta, Head- NSTEDB (National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. 

About SR Innovation Exchange 

SR Innovation Exchange (SRiX) is a technology business incubator of SR UNIVERSITY (Warangal, Telangana) under the aegis of DST (Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India). SR University formerly SR Engineering College was recently ranked No.1 in  ARIIA rankings. ARIIA (Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements) is  an initiative of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Govt. of India to systematically rank all major higher educational institutions and universities in India on indicators related to “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development” amongst students and faculties.

SRiX is equipped with an advanced MakerSpace, IoT Centre of Excellence, Rapid Prototyping facilities and other facilities to support startups. SRiX provides product designing, prototyping and testing infrastructure support for startups, with state-of-the-art precision component manufacturing capabilities. CNC Lathe, CNC milling machines, Laser cutting machines are available for innovators to get their products manufactured. Pioneer brands in 3D printing like Markforged, Ultimaker are available for innovators along with the whole gamut of power tools.