Manpreet Kaur, Founder & CEO, Vivantaa Capital is an IIM-B NSRCEL Goldman Sachs 10K Women Programme. Here she talks about her work.
What are the difficulties faced by new start-ups and medium businesses in India in getting business funding, given the unstable Indian market?
Manpreet Kaur - Start Up India and Make in India are quite popular initiatives by the Indian Government. However, in reality there are quite a few gaps yet to be addressed. First and foremost is the start-up-related compliances (GST Registration, IEC, Start Up India Certification, DPITT, Bank account opening, LUT etc.)
Majority of the time a start-up founder is either unaware of these regulatory requirements or falls prey to consultants who charge almost five times the government fee. Hence there should be a consolidated portal which addresses these issues.
The benefits under start-up India and Government Mudra yojana are not properly percolated down to the mainstream start-up community. Being a start-up and MSME ourselves we discover the majority of Indian banks do not offer these loan benefits (Only Nationalised banks offer). Besides these other wallet credits and benefits, it takes a long time to find the right party contact and to avail the same.
Hence, I strongly feel that handholding support or dial-up services should be launched for start-ups in India
How do you resolve these challenges?
Manpreet Kaur - One has to keep themselves aware and updated by reading up and networking in the right circle to gain knowledge. Also, I feel a peer group learning helps a lot here
Describe your work with start-ups to expand abroad
Manpreet Kaur - We help Indian MSMEs to access international financing through their exports or imports.
What challenges do startups face to expand abroad in different regions? How do you help them?
Manpreet Kaur - MSMEs in India often do not have the proper knowledge of trade finance products or even their reach. Hence, our role comes in to support them to structure the right solutions and get access to cross-border financing at lucrative terms.