The helping hand of banks to Tamil Nadu’s startup ecosystem

In response to growing demand and curiosity from entrepreneurs, banks headquartered in Tamil Nadu are actually increasing their community by opening extra branches and specialised cells to assist the startups.

For a few years, banks have performed a vital position in supporting the startup ecosystem. Now, they’re additionally partnering with extra incubators and academic establishments.

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), via its startup department, has established sturdy community with varied stakeholders via District Industries Centre (DIC), National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) (for credit score assure protection) and State authorities company.

IOB Managing Director and CEO Ajay Kumar Srivastava stated: “The networking and liaising has resulted in various inquiries coming in from all over India. In view of the same, the bank is planning to encourage main branches in startup hubs like Bengaluru, Mysuru, Gurugram and others to tap the opportunity by offering collateral free loans through coverage under CGSS (Credit Guarantee Scheme for Start Ups) or CGTMSE.”

The financial institution has already launched a tailored scheme for startups by the identify ‘IOB Pragati’ which it plans to propagate in main centres, he stated. Till date, IOB has supported 22 startups with a complete funding of ₹73.84 crore. The funding is within the type of each time period mortgage for fastened capital requirement and money credit score for working capital requirement of varied corporations. The sectors financed by the financial institution embody EV manufacturing, biotech, medical tools manufacturing, software program and IT, meals and drinks.

Chennai-headquartered Indian Bank is planning to broaden its startup department community past its present ten areas.

A view of the Indian Bank at Royapettah in Chennai. File
| Photo Credit:
R. Ragu

Currently, the financial institution has 10 devoted Startup Cells throughout main innovation hubs together with Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gurugram, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Mumbai. As of May 2025, Indian Bank has prolonged monetary help to over 139 startups, protecting various sectors similar to healthcare, training, client companies and eco-friendly product innovation.

Cumulatively it has disbursed over ₹340 crore beneath the ‘Ind Spring Board’ scheme, which was designed to supply tailor-made, collateral-light financing options based mostly on the money move potential and enterprise viability of the startup, not simply asset backing.

Indian Bank’s roadmap contains partnering with extra incubators and State startup missions to deepen grassroots entry moreover exploration of partnerships with enterprise capitalists, fintechs and educational establishments to present end-to-end assist, from ideation to scale-up. The financial institution additionally has a powerful community with the IIT-Madras Incubation Cell.

The collaboration with IIT-Madras Incubation Cell was formalized in 2023 beneath the Ind Spring Board initiative, with the intention of leveraging their deep-tech ecosystem and co-creating scalable funding options. Through this strategic partnership, the financial institution participates in demo days and pitch occasions hosted by IIT-M.