KSIDC: A Centre For Entrepreneurship Development

By  Dhara G K                                                                                  

The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), is an agency of the Government of Kerala, engaged in industrial and investment promotion.

Founded in 1961, the KSIDC’s primary objective was to promote, facilitate and finance large and medium scale industries and catalyze the development of physical and social infrastructure required for industrial growth in the state. It has been involved in various Startup initiatives like Business Incubation Centres, mentoring sessions for young entrepreneurs, seed funding for innovative startups etc.

The Innovative finance scheme was launched as part of YES (Young Entrepreneur Summit 2014) initiative. Under the scheme, innovative ventures are given seed fund by way of soft loan or equity share capital at 90% of the project cost or Rs.25 lakhs whichever is lower.

The scheme was made operational during the Financial Year 2015-16. Under this scheme, the Project Evaluation Memorandum and specific Term Sheet shall be placed before the Sub Committee of the Board of KSIDC for the investment decision and sanction. The Sub-Committee of the Board is headed by Chairman-KSIDC, MD-KSIDC and two nominated directors. Two subject experts having domain knowledge of the project and seed funding finance shall participate in every meeting on invitation.

The seed fund assistance will be sanctioned as Soft Loan for a period of one year at the prevailing RBI rate as on the date of sanction of financial assistance. After one year, the Company shall either take necessary steps to convert the soft loan into Equity Capital or repay the soft loan with applicable interest.

A nodal agency for foreign and domestic investments in Kerala, KSIDC facilitates clearances, approvals and processes various incentive schemes for starting a new business venture KSIDC team includes a core group of skilled professionals from various fields like Engineering, Management, Finance and Law.

The corporation has so far promoted more than 750 projects in the State and has played a vital role in the setting up of pioneering organizations such as:

Cochin International Airport Limited, Kerala Minerals & Metals Ltd, BrahMos Aerospace Trivandrum, Gelatin India Ltd., Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd., Malabar Cements Ltd, Kerala State Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Kerala Ayurveda Pharmacy Ltd, Lakeshore Hospital & Research Centre Ltd, KIMS Hospital, Le-Meridien Hotel,  Crown Plaza, Apollo Tyres and many others.