The Delhi government has approved setting up Go-Delhi Foundation with a corpus of Rs 50 crore to empower young innovators and startups, said a CMO statement on Sunday.
The approval was given in a recent Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, sanctioning the fund to help turn ideas into products and take them to market.
Delhi is home to nearly 21,000 startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
The foundation aims to promote startups, innovation and entrepreneurship in the capital while providing young people, researchers and entrepreneurs with integrated support to turn their ideas into practical products and successful enterprises.
The government has also committed an initial budget outlay of Rs 50 crore for the foundation. Through the Go-Delhi Foundation, these resources will be brought together on a common platform, with a focus on developing new enterprises, attracting investment and creating employment opportunities, said the Delhi CMO statement.
Gupta said the foundation would help startups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) access product engineering, prototyping, laboratories and testing facilities. It would also provide technical guidance, mentorship, incubation, business support and opportunities to connect with investors, helping turn early-stage ideas into market-ready products.
The initiative would support entrepreneurs at different stages, from product development and testing to certification preparation and market access. Its aim is to reduce dependence on scattered facilities for different needs and make it easier to set up and grow enterprises in Delhi, she added.
The government departments would be able to bring their real-world challenges to Delhi's innovators through the foundation, Gupta said and added that the products and technologies developed to address these challenges could be tested through pilot projects, with successful solutions taken forward for adoption.
This would give government departments an opportunity to access new technologies and practical solutions, while allowing startups to demonstrate the usefulness of their products, she added.
The foundation will also work with industry, educational institutions, investors and other partners. It will adopt a hub-and-spoke model, delivering programmes through existing facilities and partner institutions across Delhi, the statement said.
The foundation will be established as a not-for-profit company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, and will function under the Delhi government's Department of Industries, it added.