YES Bank ties up with EDII to lend startups; lends Rs 50 lakh to organic antimicrobial lingerie startup

YES Bank makes its first institutional tie up for lending to start-ups, had joined hands with Gandhinagar-based Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), a national resource Institute for entrepreneurship education, research, training & incubation. YES Bank provided Rs 50 lakh to EDII incubated startup – Green Ideology, maker of India’s first organic antimicrobial lingerie brand ‘Inner Sense’.

“Start-ups are critical to the growth of the economy. As an extension of our YES Head-Startup program, we have collaborate with EDII to help start-ups scale up and grow rapidly, thereby creating a multiplier effect on the Indian economy” said Rana Kapoor, Managing Director and CEO, YES Bank.

Founded by Abhishek Lodha and Neerja Lakhani in 2013, Green Ideology has introduced India’s first organic antimicrobial lingerie brand ‘Inner Sense’, claims EDII statement. Green Ideology had initially received a grant of Rs. 5 lakh from the Government of Gujarat acting through its nodal institute EDII, to commence its operations and launch its product range.

With the Rs 50 lakh debt funding from YES Bank, the start-up will now scale-up its operations. YES Bankis providing the loan under the CGTMSE program (Credit Guaratee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises) to the startups.

“EDII has been mentoring and supporting start-ups. But, our ability to lend to these start-ups was miniscule as we are an educational institute. Now, in association with YES Bank, EDII is in a position to provide debt to many of the start-ups whom we support in various ways” said Sunil Shukla, Director, EDII.

EDII’s recently set up technology business incubator, CrAdLE (Centre for Advancing & Launching Enterprises), headed by Infosys cofounder S Gopalakrishnan as its first chairman, is also nurturing start-ups in the fields of manufacturing, food & agri business, renewable energy and healthcare.