Srinagar: HDFC Bank Tuesday announced the launch of SmartUp Zone in Srinagar. SmartUp Zone is an exclusive area inside the branch dedicated to start-ups. The SmartUp zone is located inside Hari Singh High street branch in Srinagar.

The details about SmartUp were given during a press conference organized by the bank at Circle office, Residency Road. 

Through this zone, specially trained bank staff will offer tailor-made banking and advisory solutions to entrepreneurs. Furthermore, by accessing the bank’s new SmartUpportal, start-ups will be able to tap into the knowledge and experience of a complete network of start-ups while simultaneously offering their services to this universe.

“We have trained our staff to respond to the queries of those who have either started their start-ups or are thinking of doing the same,” said Zubair Iqbal, Circle Head – J&K, HDFC Bank, adding that the bank will be proving every possible help to the clients.

The media persons were informed that the first SmartUp zone was launched in New Delhi and similar zones will be launched in over 65 branches in 30 cities across India, including tier 2 and 3 cities that are emerging as start-up hubs.

The SmartUp zone was inaugurated by Yasir Kazmi, Director, Myasa Network Solutions, and Zubair Iqbal, in presence of other officials from the Bank.

The officials present during the press conference said that as per the survey carried out by angel.co, Srinagar is home to close to 40 start-ups. The bank has indentified these start-ups and will like to offer their services to them. “The objective is to service the needs of these start-ups and also encourage entrepreneurship in the state of J&K,” Zubair Iqbal said.

Further, it was said that the initiative is a part of a larger effort by HDFC Bank to create an ecosystem to nurture the spirit of innovation and enterprise in the start-up space.

“SmartUp is tailored to meet all the requirements of a start-up, offering banking and payment solutions, along with advisory and forex services,” the presentation given during the press conference said. Further, this year, the bank is taking its start-up offering to the next level with dedicated start-up zones.

“At HDFC Bank, we believe that start-ups need partners, who will be with them right from the start of their entrepreneurial journey, creating solutions that evolve as the company grows. The launch of SmartUp zone in Srinagar is aimed at creating a complete ecosystem to nurture the spirit of innovation and enterprise in the state of J&K. After the launch of SmartUp last year, we are taking offerings for start-ups to the next level this year. We have also revamped the SmartUp product suite to include escrow accounts for investors and demat shares for these unlisted companies for raising funds,” Zubair Iqbal said.

While divulging further details about SmartUp, it was said that the Bank also announced the launch of Industry Academia where it will work with the incubation and entrepreneurship cells at IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee and IIM Ahmedabad to mentor start-ups at these institutions. The Bank intends to take this programme across other leading educational institutions in India.

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