Lokesh Choudhary · · 2 min readDBS Bank India pledges $250m for loans to local startups
DBS Bank / Photo credit: DBS Bank
DBS Bank India has pledged US$250 million in lending for the country’s startups.
This initiative is part of its efforts to boost local innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly among startups that are integrating cutting-edge technologies to introduce novel solutions, the bank said in a statement.
DBS Bank India is evaluating a diverse range of startups for the pledge, including those in tech and healthcare as well as startups that use AI to provide services in sectors like finance, retail, and logistics.
The bank’s pledge comes as the funding winter is expected to come to halt starting this year.
Startups in India are expected to raise US$8 billion to US$12 billion, said Rajan Anandan, managing partner of VC firm Peak XV, at the Startup Mahakumbh summit. He added that this amount will be enough for the local ecosystem to thrive.
In comparison, Indian startups raised just a total of US$7 billion in 2023, a drastic drop from US$41.4 billion in 2021.
DBS Bank India’s announcement also builds upon the bank’s Businessclass FoundED forum, which has engaged with over 1,000 startups and 50 incubators across the country. The initiative was launched in April 2022 with the help of VC firm Anthill Ventures and evangelist network Headstart Network Foundation.
See also: Can Singapore’s new digital banks break into a saturated market?
Editing by Miguel Cordon and Eileen C. Ang
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