Chamba, Himachal Pradesh-based startup Notonmap, which seeks to create livelihood for people in rural areas by connecting them to offbeat travellers, has bagged a Euro €2,50,000 grant (~ US $2,80,887) from travel portal Booking.com.

The grant of € 2,50,000 to NotoOnMap is the highest grant received by any startup and the Indian startup has received the money for its proposed expansion plans in the future.

The grant was announced Friday after ten shortlisted startups completed a 3-week accelerator programme called Booster accelerator program, which culminates with pitches for the grants.

Fuounded in 2014, by Kumar Anubhav, NotOnMap empowers communities and creates a livelihood for marginalized, vulnerable people in rural areas through the preservation of culture and heritage, connecting travelers with unique, differentiated experiences.

[caption id="attachment_130391" align="alignleft" width="750"] Kumar Anubhav[/caption]

Besides offering accommodation in rural areas, the startup also offers deep rooted cultural exchanges which give equally rewarding for travellers and also for the host house/family/village.

"The commercial validation of our model built around social enterprise from an industry leader like Booking Booster gives us immense confidence to pursue our mission more vigorously and passionately." Kumar Anubhav, Founder

NotOnMap is currently working across 60 villages, covering some 20 communities. Among other states they have presence are Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Karnataka.

The other sustainable tourism startups that are being awarded grants from the 2019 Booking.com Booster Program's €2 million fund are Avy (Netherlands) for €200k, SASANE Sisterhood Trekking and Travel (Nepal) for €175k, Picha Eats (Malaysia) for €175k, Clean Travel (Australia) for €100k, Hydrao (France) for €100k, I Like Local (Netherlands) for €100k and Sumba Hospitality Foundation (Indonesia) for €100k.



In addition to the Booking.com scaling grants, the finalist startups also get support from Amazon Web Services (AWS), which will allow them to join its Startups program 'AWS Activate'. With this program, AWS provides startups with the resources they need to quickly get started on AWS - including credits, training, and support - to bring their ideas to life.

[All Images Except top featured taken from Bookingcares.com]

Via ~ Outlook India
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