The state government of Andhra Pradesh has tied with HDFC to boost start-up ecosystem in the state with the latter’s Smart Up initiative
The Andhra Pradesh Electronics and Information Technology Agency (APEITA) has partnered with HDFC bank to promote and nurture start-ups as part of the government’s Fintech Valley initiative.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Nara Lokesh, minister of Information Technology, Panchayati Raj, and Rural Development, Government of Andhra Pradesh and Smita Bhagat, group head, e-commerce, retail branch banking, HDFC Bank has agreed to offer end-to-end solutions like current accounts, credit, and other solutions to start-ups under the bank’s SmartUp programme.
Welcoming the collaboration, the minister hoped for an enhanced support to entrepreneurship and growth in the sector through HDFC’s SmartUp programme. The HDFC head also expressed delight in collaborating with the state government to establish Vizag as a FinTech Valley to promote start-ups. She said, “This endeavour resonates with our philosophy of building a thriving digital ecosystem for start-ups in India. Starts-up and Fintechs, we believe will play a critical role in generating employment and driving economic growth.”
Focus areas
The tie-up aims to provide end-to-end banking solutions to investors, incubators and accelerators and connect the start-ups to APEITA. The partnership is an effort to create an ecosystem to nurture the spirit of innovation and enterprise in the start-up space across the country through its Smart Up initiative
HDFC’s SmartUp
HDFC’s SmartUp initiative offers a range of support to start-ups. These include specially trained and dedicated staff to cater to start-up needs, assistance with partnerships and alliances in terms of cost savings and growth levers. It also allows access to HDFC Bank’s SmartBuy platform, which allows them to market their products to over 45 million HDFC bank’s customers and the public at large. It has also dedicated SmartUp zones at its branches across India that are targeted at entrepreneurial banking and advisory support.
