India’s largest private sector lender looks to support startups in the social space

Social startups by the virtue of their work domains and operational geographies take a lot of time to become self-sustainable and as a result can’t invest in research and development and operational expansions at an early stage from their own budget. This seriously affects the social enterprise’s progress, which in turn impedes their ability to create an impact.

To serve social innovation, HDFC bank on Tuesday disbursed SmartUp grants cumulatively worth Rs 5 crore to startups working in the social sector under the aegis of Parivartan, the umbrella name for the bank’s social initiatives. In Bengaluru, 20 startups were awarded these grants. This takes the total tally to more than 60 startups that have been given this grant over the past three years.