As a part of its agenda to turn some in-house startups into independent companies, Tech Mahindra, the IT arm of Mahindra Group is encouraging two of its in-house startups to raise external funds by the end of this year.

According to the Economic Times, CP Gurnani, the CEO of Tech Mahindra stated that SaralRozgar and Microgrid could raise external money by the end 2016. “We have seen some interest from the Ontario State government to fund the microgrid startup but we have not taken any decision as yet,” said Gurnani. While SaralRozgar is a platform for blue collar jobs, Microgrid allows small scale entrepreneurs to manage energy utilization.

The Journey So Far

Over the past five years Tech Mahindra has been shaping up startups as a part of its intrapreneurshipprogramme. Gurnani is of the opinion that the extra funds will empower these startups and help them expand to other countries. SaralRozgar already has plans to get a foothold in West Asia, and will be using the funds for the same.

Tech Mahindra’s internal startup programme is split into two batches and two best ideas per batch would be passed for implementation. So every year four startups take shape though this programme. Many of the IT firms today are setting aside funds to power startups. Tech Mahindra has about $ 150 million for this purpose. Infosys has a $500 million fund to put in startups while Wipro has a $100 million for the same.

Gurnani stated that the major aim was to come up with startups that could serve all of Mahindra’s customers. “We are looking at startups that have products that can help our 800 customers. We are not saying everything has to be in-house,” he said.