STPI Launches LEAP AHEAD Initiative for Tech Startups

To facilitate the growth of tech startups in the country, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has launched the LEAP (Launchpad for Tech Entrepreneurs towards Accelerated Growth and Pioneering) AHEAD initiative.

The said initiative, which is a joint collaboration of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Delhi-NCR, was unveiled at a summit held on November 6, 2023, in New Delhi. The subsequent summits are scheduled to be held in Bhubaneswar, Vijayawada, and Chandigarh, respectively.

Indian startups which are in the scaling stage, growth stage, or planning expansion into new geographical locations or product diversification can apply under the programme. Further, in order to be eligible, the startup should be a private limited company working in domains related to software product development having generated a revenue of at least Rs. 10 lakhs with minimum one-year audited balance sheet or filed ITR. If it is not a bootstrapped startup, it should also have raised a minimum of Rs. 25 lakhs from external investors.

Through this initiative, funding of up to Rs. 1 crore would be provided to the selected startups which will also receive three-month training and one-on-one mentorship sessions with industry experts and investors.

Speaking at the event, Shri S Krishnan, Secretary of MeitY, asserted that the country is “no longer known as a BPO destination” and has “evolved into a global capability centre and R&D centre”. He added that India “stands as a leader in digital public infrastructure and this can now be used in multiple ways by entrepreneurs to build successful enterprises.”