Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today launched the first social impact fund registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Called the DICCI (Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry) SME Fund, it is a venture capital corpus. Initiated by the Dalit chamber, it aims to raise Rs 500 crore over 10 years and finance dalit entrepreneurs to set up businesses. The fund was launched with an initial contribution of Rs 10 crore by the Small Industries Development Bank of India. Agreeing that availability of finance was an issue for smaller enterprises, the minister said every bank branch in the country should hand-hold at least one scheduled caste/tribe entrepreneur from amongst the hundreds of its customers. Continue reading →