Equity fund proposal for SC/ST Entrepreneurs

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Dr. Ambedkar Chamber of Commerce (DACC) has proposed incentives for SC/ST entrepreneurs in Karnataka by lending special equity funds.

By Kshipra Petkar

Bengaluru: DACC has proposed the implementation of a special equity fund across Karnataka for entreprueners belonging to scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST).

Iqbal Singh Atwal, the General Director of DACC explained that the proposal had been put forward to encourage government funding for entrepreneurs. “The major problem is funding. Some financial support should be given in the form of equity and not as loans. Unlike loans, equity doesn’t have high interest rates,” he said.

Many industrialists who were present at the event said that they would  support the organization to provide more opportunities for new startups.

Prasad Dahapute, the Additional Director General of DACC and the CEO of Gramakalyan said that they were planning to build 10 clusters for artisans and farmers by the end of this year. He said, “Seventy percent of the funding will be supported by the state and central government, 24 percent will be supported by us and the rest 10 percent will be with the contribution of entrepreneurs and artisans.”

Dr. Mahadev, an economist said that the diversification of funds allocated for uplifting SCs and STs, for other purposes like building roads or as loan waivers, is one of the major challenges in the implementation of such a scheme. “Once the resources have been allocated for SCs and STs, they are diverted as a loan waivers. Resources once allotted should not be diverted or allowed to go waste,” he said.

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