Risers Accelerator to Provide Initial Funding of up to ₹2 Cr to Startups Working towards Women Safety

Rising untoward incidents against women across the country require collective efforts to ensure that women are safe in the country. The government is doing its parts and Risers Accelerator – a group of 35 successful entrepreneurs based out of Delhi are aggressively promoting start-ups with a vision to bring positive changes in society. In this realm, Risers Accelerator has called out to give initial funding of up to Rs 2 crore to startups who innovate in technology for women safety. The funding amount may increase considering the scale and scope of the product.

Rachit Chawla

Risers focused on the need to improve women’s safety. So, in case everything fails at the last moment, the technology on your phone or any other device would be able to help your family / friends / police to locate you or warn you for any potential threat. "Reading about gory offences against women has made us think for weeks. We wanted to play a role in ensuring that women safety should be the prime concern. In this age of technology and startups, we came up with the idea that if any startup comes up with a feasible idea in this regard, we will help them in growing their business," says Rachit Chawla, Director – Technology & Finance, Risers Accelerator.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2017 released this year shows instances of reported rape surged from 34,651 in 2015 to 38,947 in 2016. Similar is the case with other crimes against women. "Startups are prospering in the country and many people look for ideas that have an impact on the country’s economy only. We wanted the people to think of startup ideas which not only take care of the commercial benefits but should also have a social impact," added Mr Chawla. 

They added that as accelerator they want the tech startups to come at the front and be the partners in the change the country requires the most.

Risers Accelerator Invests ₹11 Cr in 3 Startups

Startup accelerator, Risers Accelerator has funded three start-ups -- Cosmeto Food, Zeleno, and Playtoome -- with a total investment of approx. Rs 11 Crore. Risers Accelerator is a conglomerate of 35 individuals based out of Delhi and has been aggressively promoting start-ups with good business potential.

Risers Accelerator supported Zeleno, a startup dealing in Reverse Vending machines, recently got a contract through Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) for Central Railways of 500 machines. Zeleno was started three years back by an ISB Hyderabad trio towards furthering the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Valued at Rs 50 crore, Zeleno has been successfully installing the machines in New Delhi and Lucknow. Piloting with these places, the company has already come up with a blueprint of places across India where the machines will be installed. Risers Accelerator hold 10 per cent equity in the company.

"Our focus is to accelerate the companies that have a noble cause attached to it along with the business part. With the latest order by the Indian Railways of 500 vending machines, Zeleno is on the right track and hopefully the target of reaching every metro city by the end of this financial year will be achieved. We believe that the initiative will stand as a main pillar in the success of ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, a campaign by the Government of India," says Pravin Khandelwal, Director, Leadership & Motivation, Risers Accelerator.

The idea is good as the business related to this sector is a growing one. In fact, studies put that in India around 90 percent of PET bottles are recycled -- around 65 per cent at registered facilities, 15 per cent in the unorganized sector and 10% reused at homes. The model makes sense the rate of recycling of PET bottles is much higher than the rate in other countries such as Japan (72.1%), Europe (48.3%) and the US (31%).

Talking about the challenges a cause-based startup faces, Prateek Mittal, co-founder, Zeleno, said, "A new idea always faces apprehensions and these doubts increases if a cause is attached to the idea. People start talking about the viability of the project and ROI, etc. We are thankful that we have the support and backing of Risers Accelerator. The need of the hour is that the incubators and accelerators should come forward to support these startups that have the potential to safeguard the future of the earth. We do understand that business is important and all of these startups are here to do that."

"With such a huge recycling industry at work in India, the scope of such start-ups is good. The industry employees around 4 million people and it is one of the best ways of income generation for various people including ragpickers and recyclers. We see a huge potential as the India’s waste management sector would be worth US$13.62 billion by 2025,"adds Mr. Rachit Chawla, Director, Finance & Technology, Risers Accelerator.

On the other hand Cosmeto Food Organic Pvt Ltd, a startup that provides taste-able authentic Ayurvedic organic handmade skin care products, was started 2 years back by Mr. Himanshu Chadha, founder, Cosmeto Food Organic Pvt Ltd Valued at Rs 20 crore, Cosmeto has been successfully operating pan India and is exporting to about 35 countries. Risers Accelerator has funded Rs 2 crores for product distribution and it holds 10 percent equity in the company. Due to increasing focus on personal care, the market for natural and organic cosmetics market is thriving. As per the report by Market Research Future (MRFR), the global natural and organic cosmetics market is predicted to touch USD 25,100 million by 2023.

"Our products are proudly free of paraben, animal by-products, silicon, mineral oils, toxins, alcohol and other harsh cosmetic chemicals which are safe to be tasted as well. Since they are made of almost 100% natural ingredients, you might mistake them as natural food because of their appearance and texture. And yes, they are all taste-able," says Chadha, founder, Cosmeto Food Organic Pvt Ltd.

The products by the company are made from ECOCERT Certified organic ingredients with tested and authenticated proven formulations."Our products are based on our years of expertise. These offerings bring immense beautifying and healing effects on skin and keep it glowing without any side effects," adds Chadha.

The third company in which Risers Accelarator has invested in is Playtoome -- a company that is into technology-enabled live performance, entertainment and consumer engagement platform. The company is targeting to be USD 50 million business and 5 million unique customers in the next three years. Playtoome will get next round of funding from Risers of Undisclosed amount. Playtoome’s model involves enlisting music enthusiasts on its platform and based on their requests and preferences and the whole experience in interactive manner. The online portal is two-year old and has a customer base of 50,000 and has 3500 artists. The customers can view the concerts on his/her mobile, tablet, laptop, PC or even on a smart TV. On the other hand, it takes off the pain of paying a hefty fee for listening to live concert and to be physically present there.

“Playtoome was launched with a singular vision – to transform the live entertainment space by connecting audiences with their favorite artists through technology and enabling more interactive and immersive live entertainment experiences. T

he investment will give a big boost to that vision. This association provides us with the capital infusion necessary to scale our operations and also unlocks access to key mentorship and networking opportunities critical to the growth of any emerging start-up,” S Keerthivasan, Founder and CEO of Playtoome said.

Riser Accelerator is also in talks with 'Just Happy' as well, which is in the retail segment of household gifts stationery.

Risers Accelerator Funds ₹ 1 Cr to Organic Cosmetics Startup

Risers Accelerator has supported Cosmeto Food Organic Pvt Ltd, a startup that provides taste-able authentic Ayurvedic organic handmade skin care products. Cosmeto was started in 2016 by Mr. Himanshu Chadha. Valued at Rs 20 crore, Cosmeto has been successfully operating pan India and is exporting to about 35 countries. Looking at the scope and the way plan is panning out, Risers Accelerator has funded Rs one crore for product distribution. Risers Accelerator is aimed to provide adequate financial, infrastructural, and knowledge support to all the potential startups, and by 2025, it is determined to add
INR 3,00,000 Crores in the country’s GDP.

Due to increasing focus on personal care the market for natural and organic cosmetics market is thriving. As per the report by Market Research Future (MRFR), the global natural and organic cosmetics market is predicted to touch USD 25,100 million by 2023. “We have valued Cosmeto Food Organic at about Rs 20 crore, and are in talks with the promoters to invest seed capital. We will mentor them for distribution and digital marketing,” Mr. Pravin Khandelwal said who is the Leadership & Motivation Director with Risers Accelerator and Mr. Rachit Chawla, Director – Finance & Technology at Risers Accelerator.

"Our products are proudly free of paraben, animal by-products, silicon, mineral oils, toxins, alcohol and other harsh cosmetic chemicals which are safe to be tasted as well. Since they are made of almost 100% natural ingredients, you might mistake them as natural food because of their appearance and texture. And yes, they are all taste-able," says Mr. Himanshu Chadha, founder, Cosmeto Food Organic Pvt Ltd.

The products by the company are made from ECOCERT Certified organic ingredients with tested and authenticated proven formulations."Our products are based on our years of expertise. These offerings bring immense beautifying and healing effect for skin texture to be ever glowing without any side effects," adds Mr. Chadha.

Organic Skin care is skin products made of plant derived ingredients along with some other naturally occurring ingredients. These ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, GMO and so on and often come with an Organic certification. The integrity of these unadulterated ingredients is maintained in the best way possible with little to no additives. From here the best ingredients for the specific goal are chosen and a natural preservative system is used for longevity.

Risers Accelerator to Shortlist 200 Startups with ₹15-20 Lakhs as Funding Support

Risers Accelerator announced its official launch at The Oberoi, Dr Zakir Hussain Marg (New Delhi). The company’s official launch was followed by the launch of its website, i.e. www.risersaccelerator.com. Risers Accelerator is a platform to transform the game-changing ideas of startups into feasible and profitable businesses. Risers Accelerator is a well-integrated team of 35 young and successful entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds and sectors; their cumulative experience is more than 700 years, and the total worth of their businesses is more than INR 3000 Crores. Risers Accelerator is aimed to provide adequate financial, infrastructural, and knowledge support to all the potential startups, and by 2025, it is determined to add INR 3,00,000 Crores in the country’s GDP.

In the financial year (2019-20), Risers Accelerator willshortlist 200 startups across the nation to support and nurture them. And, in case a startup is failed to raise funds by its own, Risers Accelerator will invest upto 50 lakhs per startup. To expedite this mission, Risers Accelerator has joined hands with Indraprastha Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIIT-D) to help its students become future entrepreneurs through financial assistance and knowledge support, and in turn, get institute’s technological assistance to harness a productive and lucrative culture of startups across the world.

The launch witnessed various industry leaders, budding entrepreneurs, influencers and eminent personalities such as Arokiaswamy Velumani of Thyrocare Technologies Ltd., Ramesh Menon of Future Group among others. The event turned out to be a great platform for well-renowned influential personalities from diverse backgrounds to interact and ignite conversations with top business leaders for mutual benefits and futuristic goals.

On the official launch of Risers Accelerator, Mr. Ajay Kapur, Director – Operations and Strategy Management at Risers Accelerator said “Startups need support, and many times, money alone can’t overcome every challenge. Along with it, knowledge support, human resource, technical assistance, market research and many other factors play an equally important role. Well, Risers is a startup accelerator, which aims to provide all kinds of resources and support to growing startups or those which have great growth potential but somehow fail due to any of the said factors.”

Throwing light on the plans and strategies, Mr. Rachit Chawla, Director – Finance & Technology at Risers Accelerator said,“For many years, multiple startups have failed despite their great potential, due to factors such as lack of technical assistance, finance or knowledge about the target market. And with Risers, we are taking a unique initiative to inspire and empower entrepreneurs with their pro-society ethics and ideologies. These startups need to stay empowered, motivated and assisted in achieving newer feats. Keeping this in view, we are in discussion with Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi) for collaboration. We hope to connect startups with immense growth opportunities and thus give them wings to reach great heights in their entrepreneurial journey.”

Speaking on the similar note Mr. Pravin Khandelwal, Director  – Leadership & Motivation at Risers Accelerator added, ‘Risers Accelerator will help to develop a pivotal start-up community in the country, and will work for greater goal to bolster startups in line with Make in India, Startup India, and Digital India.’

Alok Nikhil Jha, Chief Operating Officer of ‘IIITD Innovation & Incubation Center’ of IIIT Delhi also expressed his views regarding significant role of accelerator towards supporting the startups and possible ways of association. He said, “IIITD Innovation & Incubation Center, is one of the most prestigious technology based incubator in the country which fosters the culture of Entrepreneurship and provides an ideal platform providing opportunities to scientists, engineers, professionals and students to convert their innovations, ideas and plans into sustainable businesses ventures. The Accelerator plays a tremendous role in overall ecosystem by closely involving Incubators and supporting startup ventures.” He further said “With the strong enthusiastic team of Risers Accelerator and a common mission, we feel there are several ways we can contribute the community together and set up a bench mark in the Country in the ecosystem of Innovation & Entrepreneurship”.