Mumbai, Dec 10 (PTI) Professors of Cornell University will mentor entrepreneurs from Maharashtra for the next three years as part of a tie-up between one of the most industrialised states and the New York-based varsity, officials said on Thursday.

The Maharashtra government will invest Rs 7 crore in the programme, which will have 60 entrepreneurs being trained annually at the dedicated incubation centre, according to a statement.

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The state government on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US varsity for what is christened as the 'Cornell Maha 60' programme.

"This is a first-of-its-kind programme in India, where faculty from Cornell would hand-hold and mentor entrepreneurs/start-ups," Maharashtra Development Commissioner Harshdeep Kamble said.

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He said work on the project has been on for the past 18 months and the tie-up involves setting up the 'International Business Accelerator/Incubator' in a 13,000 sqft facility at Reliance IT Park in Navi Mumbai.

Logistics support for the programme will be rendered by Singapore's XED Institute of Management, which is Cornell's partner for Asia.

Maharashtra Secretary (Industries) Venugopal Reddy said the first batch of the year-long programme will commence from March 2021, while Kamble hinted that there is a possibility of venture capital funding also being made available to the entrepreneurs.

All the expenses for the programme will be borne by the state government and entrepreneurs will be selected from various sections of the society, including women.

Entrepreneurs undergoing the programme will be selected by Cornell and get a certificate on completion.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)