State Bank of India opened a lounge on IIIT Hyderabad campus for startups on 1 July as part of an engagement it wants to cement with the vibrant eco-system, one that will see the country’s largest lender hand-hold and evaluate fin-techs going forward.
Inaugurating the lounge along with Prof. P J Narayanan, Chief General Manager of SBI Hyderabad Circle, Mr. O P Mishra said the purpose of setting up the facility is to be part of the startup ecosystem. Seeking to highlight the significance of tech startups and their disruptions, he said SBI would like to begin its association with the startups in the city by offering financial consultation, advisory services, transactional products and foreign remittances.
The startup lounge is the first of its kind for SBI in collaboration with a premier institute and on a campus.
Professor-Co-Innovation and Head Research/Innovation Outreach at IIITH Ramesh Loganathan said SBI would help startups understand finance and associated areas through enabling talks, mentor the aspiring entrepreneurs and evaluate some of them from a perspective of becoming a client.