FLO organises a Panel Discussion on 'Investment & Funding'

Hyderabad: FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) organized a Panel Discussion on Investment & Funding virtually on Zoom Platform on Thursday. Participating in the discussion Mr. Surya S of IIT Hyderabad said "The Secret of Funding is you need to be eligible to get funded". Over the years the funding opportunities have increased dramatically. So one must know what those are. There are many Government Grants which don't need much work to get funded. Thanks to Atmanirbhar Bharat Scheme and many such schemes now the funding opportunities available are dime a dozen. There is enough funding like Nidhi Prayas if you have a serious idea. Nidhi Prayas as you all know is A NIDHI-Promotion and Acceleration of Young and Aspiring technology entrepreneurs (NIDHI-PRAYAS). The support from the idea to Prototype is the scheme under NIDHI, aimed at addressing the gap in the very early stage of an idea/proof of concept funding. The NIDHI-PRAYAS program focuses on addressing the idea to prototype funding gaps, he said.  

Mr Surya participated in the Panel Discussion along with Prof Ramesh Loganathan from IIIT-Hyderabad. The Panel Discussion was facilitated by Mr Dhruv Guptha, a Chief Program Coordinator, AISEA(AFI i-TIC Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator) and i-TIC Foundation(the Technology Business Incubator (TBI)) at IIT Hyderabad.  

The early-stage startups don't need much funding. They don't have to go to bigger sharks. It is very hard to raise money at that stage. Investors don't see a reason to invest money at this stage. Mostly the promoters invest their own money. But, there are exceptions to this and it varies from sector to sector. What is most important at this stage is to get initial demonstrative value as quickly as possible, said Prof Ramesh Loganathan.  

Giving her welcome address Ms Uma Chigurupati, Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad said the aspiring entrepreneurs are confronted with many challenges.  One of the biggest challenges is to raise funding. Through this panel discussion, we would like to make the process much easier for them.  Also the aspiring and existing entrepreneurs need to excel in many processes in the entrepreneurial journey such as  Bootcamps, Micro-accelerators, Workshops, Mentorship, Pitching and many more.  And who could be better than these premier organizations who can offer to the FLO entrepreneurial community,. Experts from these premier organizations like iTIC at IIT Hyd. & CIE@IIIT Hyd brings in to the table.  They also give more insights into the Investment & Funding options available to FLO members in a spirited Panel Discussion.

Later participating in the discussion Ms Uma said the need of the hour for FLO members, the majority of whom were entrepreneurs and professionals engaged mostly into family businesses. What they need is to look beyond, to project their ventures, ideas. How to pitch to investors? How to value their product? How do you bring sustainability into their existing product line? How to go Green and many more things? and help in Technology Up gradation. 

Answering how IIIT-H can help FLO Entrepreneurs, Prof Ramesh Loganathan said, a safety pin can be a safety pin and that's all. But, a twist to it may emerge as a different product and in a different market. So help them think differently. We can support them without existing infrastructure, Lab Facilities, Our Knowledge and Experience he said. Also, our programs conducted from time to time could be very beneficial.

Mr Surya said IIT Hyderabad can offer its Infrastructure, R & D, Research Mentors and Innovation Mentors and Technology Solutions could be of immense use to the FLO members. 

Technology is becoming simpler and simpler over the years. There are enough solutions. For strangers, it may be greek and Latin. We will decipher and make it easy for them.  

Speaking about what incubators expect from entrepreneurs, Prof Ramesh Loganathan said, they need to find their niche. Even if they are entering into an existing space, which may even be crowded already, there should be a well-identified opportunity or gap, which we don't find in many early-stage startups, he said.  

The engaging and insightful discussion was attended by over 70 FLO members. The panelists also clarified doubts and answered the questions of the participants.  

FLO earlier last week organized a Graduation Ceremony of 1st FLO -We Hub Cohort. Jayesh Ranjan was a special invitee and address on Women in MSME, Telangana. 

FLO Hyderabad in partnership with FLO Mumbai and FLO Uttarakhand earlier this week on 21st June organised an Orientation, where the experts shared insights into establishing a business, becoming an investor, The speakers were drawn from across India.