New Delhi, January 11 (PTI): The North East Venture Fund, a first-of-its-kind financial instrument dedicated for the northeastern region, is gaining popularity among start-ups and young entrepreneurs, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday.
The North East Venture Fund (NEVF), launched by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), intends to promote growth of business ventures and skill development in the region.
The NEVF is gaining popularity among start-ups and young entrepreneurs, Singh said here.
He said the Ministry of DoNER had joined with the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi) to set up the NEVF with an initial corpus of Rs 100 crore.
The fund targets to invest in start-ups and unique business opportunities to provide resources to new entrepreneurs.
The main focus of the NEVF is on early and growth stage investment for mostly the enterprises involved in food processing, healthcare, tourism, segregation of services, IT, among others.
The investment size with the scheme ranges between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 10 crore with a long term horizon of five to 10 years.
It is heartening to note that, Singh said, the venture fund which was launched with the initial motivation to provide livelihood to youth of the northeastern region, has now also started attracting different groups of youths from diverse backgrounds who wish to try their fortunes through the unexplored potentials of the region.
The minister also noted that the DoNER ministry has started a series 'Destination North East', wherein different facets of the Northeast, including entrepreneurship avenues, are replicated at different locations across the country.
During these events, arrangements are being made for offering counseling and assistance to potential entrepreneurs and business start-ups, he added.
