Crowdera and HubSpot to co-organize pro-bono Startup Acceleration Bootcamp for Indian Start-ups and SMEs

Crowdera, a SaaS technology company and fee-free global online fundraising platform for nonprofits and social innovators is coming together with HubSpot to organize a free "Startup Acceleration Bootcamp” designed to benefit the start-ups and SMEs. The 3-day bootcamp will help the participating businesses in establishing a strong and efficient tech stack right in their early days which is crucial for long term success.

Crowdera together with HubSpot, a global leader in developing and marketing of software products for inbound marketing and sales, will share a combination of knowledge and technology in this bootcamp which will be held on September 24th, 29th & October 1st 2020 from 1:00PM - 2:30PM IST.

Chet Jainn, Founder & CEO, Crowdera said, “The Startup Acceleration Bootcamp will be beneficial for emerging businesses generating revenue ~2000$ and upwards per month. Founders and decision-makers who are ready to take action and implement changes to their sales and marketing processes will gain immensely from these sessions. Entrepreneurs will learn how to consolidate their growth efforts using the most dynamic tech stack for sales, marketing, and customer success for growth acceleration and superb customer experiences. Crowdera's premium fundraising platform tools for pre-sales crowdfunding, syndicate crowdfunding will be offered pro-bono for one year to all selected participant start-ups. They will also have access to exclusive master classes and workshops in sales, marketing and customer service.”

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The participants of the workshop will get assured access to 14-days trial of the HubSpot Growth Platform where they can experiment and design their sales and marketing strategy. They will also be able to use the Slack mentorship channel for 30 days post workshop. In addition, they can get their queries answered live from the HubSpot start-up experts.

The workshop, aligned with Crowdera Startup Accelerator tools, will map the growth marketing techniques in bootcamp for the fundraising process of start-ups. The sessions are designed to inspire young people to become innovative change makers.

To participate in the workshop, the interested participants can visit HubSpot's official website. Registration is open to all start-ups in India and is 100% free. Registration is mandatory prior to the event and only limited seats are available. https://hubs.ly/H0wwq8P0.

About Crowdera-

Crowdera is a SAAS technology company that builds scalable fundraising and syndication platforms and solutions with inbuilt virality creating a network effect. Crowdera offers a fee-free online syndicated team fundraising & crowdfunding platform for nonprofits, foundations, corporations, and social innovators serving individuals and communities. The Crowdera difference being that all fundraising and crowdfunding is absolutely free on this platform with no donor dipping. Fundraisers on Crowdera can raise money without losing any commission or fee from donations received.

Founded in 2014 from Silicon Valley with a principle that believes in the power of giving to create abundance around us, Crowdera platforms now support charitable fundraising, crowdfunding, corporate & celebrity donation syndication, and employee engagement, in a single value chain.

About HubSpot -

HubSpot is an American developer and marketer of software products for inbound marketing, sales, and customer service. It was founded by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah in 2006.

Its products and services aim to provide tools for customer relationship management, social media marketing, content management, lead generation, web analytics, search engine optimization, live chat, and customer support.

UIncept Invites Applications for Edtech Startup Program 2020

Gurugram based Accelerator, UIncept invites applications for the next cohort of its 6-month acceleration program for early/advanced stage Edtech entrepreneurs starting in the first week of November 2020. UIncept has been investing in and accelerating startups for more than 5 years now.

According to a recent article by The New Indian Express, in the wake of the pandemic, work from home and online learning has become the new normal. And Edtech companies have become one of the biggest gainers amidst the crisis. Clearly, this number will grow with every passing year.

During pandemic the experts at UIncept factored low sustainability rate amongst startups in the country and drafted a program to help budding entrepreneurs get hands-on experience with right fundamentals, to take on any obstacle they may experience in their Startup journey. Hence making their business ‘Future-proof’.

With a portfolio of over 40 companies, where majority are focused in the EdTech space, UIncept is all set for its upcoming acceleration cohort and will be looking for passionate founders of early/advanced stage Startups with initial traction/revenue and with business model scalability.

What makes this program unique is its unparalleled customized approach according to each business requirement, access to our connections amongst education policy makers, educators and students across schools and colleges PAN India, topped up with Global perk partners and events for collaborations and networking opportunities.

Founder and Chief Mentor- UIncept, Mr. Manish Gupta comes with over 25 years of rich experience in spearheading Jagan Group of Institutions having colleges and universities across India.

Gathering his thoughts on the Program, Mr. Gupta firmly says, “Building a conducive space for entrepreneurs to help them fast track their entrepreneurial journey is very important. It’s critical for entrepreneurs to understand the complete business ecosystem to contribute to the economic and social growth of the country, with the right guidance and support."

UIncept functions under the leadership of CEO, Ms. Divvya Guptaa, a vibrant entrepreneur and a strategy nester.

Be it the right network of mentors, investors, or partnering with tech support brands, arranging relevant meetups/events, UIncept is pulling every string it can to empower the future change makers.

About UIncept’s Acceleration Program 2020

The 6-month structured program, to be held at UIncept’s Gurugram campus, will be a customised and milestone driven program designed to address unique business ideas focussing on – Test prep, learning app, K12, individual learning & online tutoring, and more. The aim of the program is to support business entrepreneurs scale up their ventures. Mentors from India's most prestigious institutions and B-Schools, founders from successful enterprises, technocrats working with leading technology companies will head boot camps and sessions to cover all business aspects.

Soon after the program commences, the startups are analysed and divided into two categories basis their scale and rate of growth:

• Reaching MVP
• MVP+

The program in a nutshell:

KPI/Milestone driven program

• Weekly 1:1 session with quality in-house resources (EIR, Growth Hacker, etc.)
• Online/offline boot camps on core functions including Design, Tech, Growth Hacking.
• Regular Mentorship from experts as per requirements.

Funding opportunity from UIncept during/after the program*

• Access to Investors, Investments and funding partner.
• Introduction to Investors, angels & VCs across industries for attracting further funding.

Global perks benefits

• Value more USD 21K to support cash burn including cloud credits, marketing credits, CRM benefits, payment gateways, etc.

Access to world class office space

• Well-equipped and state-of-the-art office space for each startup in Gurugram for a duration of 6 months.
• Modern and stylish co-working spaces, Conference rooms with advanced projection technology.
• Event space to accommodate 100-120 attendees. Multipurpose room for training sessions, telephone booths, library with entrepreneur-recommended books and an Ideation lab to bring Ideas to life.

Access to network in Education Industry

• Network and collaborate with various stakeholders of the education industry including schools, colleges, universities, publishers, etc.
• Opportunity to pilot with colleges and universities in the network.
• Access to international network associated - IXI Summit 2020, Global Edtech Startup Awards with MindCET Israel, Local Startup Meets by IITs and many such high decibel networking events.

All this is provided to the promising startups for an equity of 3%.

You can apply for the program by clicking here: ttps://uincept.selecteev.io/apply

Techstars to Partner with ABN AMRO to Support Startups Transforming Financial Services

New accelerator program will support startups that are transforming financial services in business and life

Techstars, the global platform for investment and innovation, and ABN AMRO have agreed to a three-year partnership to accelerate innovation through a Techstars accelerator program. The partners will focus on identifying and supporting innovative startups transforming financial services in business and life.

The collaboration will connect ABN AMRO with Techstars' unmatched global network and help the company accelerate digitization and innovation in delivering its strategy. Through the mentorship-driven accelerator program, the companies will recruit and support the most promising early stage companies in the financial industry.

"Financial services and technologies underpin so much of what we do in business, life and even socializing today," said Keith Camhi, senior vice president of accelerators, Techstars. "Partnering with an innovative and engaged company like ABN AMRO allows us to continue to tap the immense sector expertise we have and help entrepreneurs develop solutions that enhance lives and improve how businesses operate."

Selected startups will work closely with Techstars' program team and vast mentor network, and with ABN AMRO's corporate innovation team, subject matter experts, and network of clients.

"Working with the startup ecosystem is crucial for ABN AMRO's innovation journey," said Edwin van Bommel, chief innovation officer, ABN AMRO. "Our aim is to be at the forefront of innovation in relevant ecosystems, supporting startups to become leaders in their field and allowing us to build out our leading position in innovation. Partnering with a leading accelerator like Techstars allows us to find and connect with the best startups in the global ecosystem."

Timeline:

• September 14, 2020 – Applications Open


• January 2021 – 10 companies selected


• March, 2021 – Start ABN AMRO and Techstars Accelerator


• June, 2021 – Demo Day

About Techstars
Techstars is the global platform for investment and innovation. Founded in 2006, Techstars began with three simple ideas — entrepreneurs create the future, collaboration drives innovation, and great ideas can come from anywhere. Today our mission is to make innovation accessible to everyone, everywhere. We do this by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to create a more sustainable and inclusive world. Since 2006, Techstars has invested in more than 2,200 companies and today has a market cap of $27 Billion. www.techstars.com

About ABN AMRO
ABN AMRO serves clients in the retail, private banking and corporate banking sectors. Our primary focus is on Northwest Europe. We offer clients in the Netherlands an extensive and comprehensive range of products and services across a variety of channels, including our Mobile Banking app and Internet Banking. ABN AMRO possesses a clear and bold purpose: banking for better, for generations to come. The bank's impact on society and on the economy is tremendous, and for our contribution to be both positive and enduring we need to make the right choices. Everything that we do derives from our purpose: now and in the future.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1244449/Techstars_master_logo_color_Logo.jpg

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Lowe’s Innovation Labs Launches CONSTRUCT, Its New Startup Accelerator Program in India, and Announces Members of Inaugural Cohort

Seven Indian startups join CONSTRUCT by Lowe’s Innovation Labs, a stage-agnostic program designed to reimagine home improvement retail

Lowe’s Innovation Labs, the innovation hub of FORTUNE® 50 retailer Lowe’s Companies Inc., today launched the first Indian cohort of its signature, stage-agnostic startup accelerator program, CONSTRUCT by Lowe’s Innovation Labs. Seven startups from across India, representing a diverse range of interests including merchandising, AI-driven trend forecasting, automated content generation, talent acquisition, hyper real AI and sustainable next-gen home construction technology were selected after a five-city roadshow conducted earlier this year. 

CONSTRUCT is designed to be a flexible alternative to traditional corporate accelerators. Keeping with Lowe’s Innovation Labs’ mission to use exponential technology to accelerate experiences that customers expect today and to deliver tomorrow’s breakthrough capabilities, the program is open to deep technology companies of all sizes and at all stages. Programming centers around highly personalised, one-on-one working relationships, access to internal and external mentors, and an emphasis on working together to reimagine prototype and ultimately bring to market the future of home improvement retail. 

Participants in the first cohort include:

• Stylumia: A Bangalore-based startup focused on providing product insights through its AI-powered consumer-driven, demand-sensing engine for seen and unseen products 


• Infilect: A Bangalore-based startup with strong computer vision capabilities and AI platforms, helping brands and retailers in measuring, monitoring and improving retail processes such as product distribution, placement and sales.


• StoryXpress: A Delhi NCR-based startup with an end-to-end video marketing platform that enables brands and retailers to convert their e-commerce product catalogs into videos at a fraction of the standard time and cost.


• Headway: A Bangalore-based startup focused on talent acquisition powered by AI and behavioral science, helping talent acquisition teams function faster  with deep talent analytics.


• Siddhi.ai: A Bangalore-based startup focused on using AI to craft actionable insights from the vast, unstructured resources of the open web to help lifestyle brands and retailers personalise product decisions.


• Rephrase.ai: A Bangalore-based startup focused on building generative AI tools to make professional automated human-like videos with applications involving Hyperreal AI. 


• Nanospan: A Hyderabad-based startup focused on nanotechnology, producing graphene and nano composites with applications in building the next-gen homes, defence tech and energy storage. 

“India is home to a wide network of innovators developing solutions to global issues. We have set up CONSTRUCT as a way to partner with the brightest minds to reinvent home improvement retail,” said Abhay Tandon, Director – Innovation and Head of Lowe’s Innovation Labs – India. “CONSTRUCT provides startups of all stages and sizes with an opportunity to apply their solutions in a highly conducive environment.”

“We’re launching our signature start-up engagement program, CONSTRUCT, in India to reimagine and build the future of home improvement retail with startups that bring diverse, global perspectives,” said Cheryl Friedman, Vice President of Lowe’s Innovation Labs.

CONSTRUCT is designed around Lowe’s start-up partners, who receive personalised attention from functional and technical leaders at Lowe’s, as well as external mentors from venture capitalist firms, companies and enablers. 

“Our vision at Lowe’s India is to transform home improvement retail by building world-class experiences for our customers with the right products and technology,” said Ankur Mittal, Vice President Technology and Managing Director of Lowe’s India. “Our focus has always been to use deep technologies such as AI, analytics and robotics to power tomorrow’s retail, and CONSTRUCT will help accelerate that work.” 

The virtual launch event was held on 17th June 2020 with more than 5000+ participants, leaders and speakers from across the globe. Cheryl Friedman, Vice President of Lowe’s Innovation Labs from Lowe’s Global and Ankur Mittal Vice President Technology and Managing Director of Lowe’s India provided the keynote remarks. Speakers from Gojek, Udaan, Haptik, The Brigade Group and Accenture engaged in a fireside chat and panel discussion about the future of home improvement retail. 

Lowe’s India is the retail technology and analytics center for Lowe’s Companies, Inc. With more than 2,500 associates, Lowe’s India focuses on technology, analytics and shared services. For more information, visit Lowe’s India on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Lowe’s: 

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a FORTUNE® 50 home improvement company serving approximately 18 million customers a week in the United States and Canada. With fiscal year 2019 sales of $72.1 billion, Lowe’s and its related businesses operate or service more than 2,200 home improvement and hardware stores and employ approximately 300,000 associates. Based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s supports the communities it serves through programs focused on creating safe, affordable housing and helping to develop the next generation of skilled trade experts.

Health Tech Incubator of $50 Mn corpus launched by Aster DM Healthcare, LSV Capital

Bengaluru-based Aster DM healthcare and investment firm Life Science Vision Capital along with social entrepreneurship promoter firm Social Alpha jointly announced on Friday to have set up the country's first incubator-cum-accelerator to develop health technology start-ups.

The incubator-cum-accelerator, XHealth Innovation Lab, has been set up with an initial corpus of USD 50 million (nearly Rs 380 crore) for which investors have already given commitment for 60 per cent of the funding, according to a source involved in the venture.

Aster DM Healthcare Chief Innovation Officer Satish Prasad Rath said COVID-19 has pushed the healthcare system to look for disruptive solutions be it newer lab-on-a-chip diagnostics, support system for healthcare workers in form of personal protection equipment or remote ICU diagnostics to virtually managing chronic and elderly patients through digital healthcare.

"Combining Aster's network of hospitals and healthcare expertise with Life Science Vision Capital's investment philosophy and industry-leading capabilities, we aspire to accelerate the discovery of new therapies by leveraging deep tech in the field of healthcare. We intend to build these newer solutions that can revitalise the healthcare system in a sustainable way," Rath said.

The newly formulated innovation labs will run its own incubator XHealth Innovation Lab and incubate 10 start-ups in each cohort twice a year and develop both scientific and commercial solutions, the statement said.

"Life science and health tech companies are always looking for a data-driven digital innovation approach to help fuel the creation of accessible healthcare solutions. We look forward to collaborating with Aster DM healthcare and other business partners to help accelerate the cycle of healthcare innovation to populations throughout the world," LSV Capital Partners Managing Partner Shu Joshi said.

Aster and LSV will leverage deep analytics across the new platform to better understand key diseases and extract-related insights.

"The innovation lab will run its own 12-week incubator programme coupled with 2 weeks at Aster's hospitals in Bengaluru with 10 health tech start-ups graduating in January 2021. Applications will open on June 20 for the first cohort starting in October 2020," the statement said. PTI PRS

Silicon Road Invites Applications for Acceleration Program Exclusively for Retail, Food-Tech Startups

Silicon Road, US-based early-stage venture capital firm has opened the call for applications for its Indian accelerator. The accelerator is designed to attract the best food tech and retail startups to participate in a 4-month acceleration program with access to the best mentors from the U.S., India and Israel. 

The 2nd Cohort of the accelerator program will include seed funding, access to eminent mentors in the food and retail space across the globe, infrastructure support and an ecosystem that will help the startup scale to the next level.  The Accelerator program leverages three primary hubs of innovation in the US, India and Israel to give the most revolutionary ideas in food and retail a global platform.  

As a runup to the 2nd cohort, Silicon Road recently organized a Global Food Technology Conference in Mysuru, called Silicon Road Innovation in Food Technology (SRIFT 2020). This event was a confluence of top Food MNCs from India, food tech research organizations, academia and startups. Several FoodTech startups and researchers came together to showcase their products and concepts. During the conference, Silicon Road also launched 4 new products to the market.

Silicon Road, the VC firm and Accelerator, was founded by Sid Mookerji, the founder and former CEO of Software Paradigms Infotech / Softvision (now acquired by Cognizant Technology Solutions) which was Mysuru’s first software 100% EOU. He also founded Silver Spirit Global LLC, which operates incubators and technology parks in the US and India.

Sid Mookerji, Founder & Managing Partner, Silicon Road said, “Silicon Road is an ecosystem that is designed to fast-track the growth of early-stage startups. We provide them with quick access to key industry experts, mentors, advisors, and funding opportunities through our acceleration program to improve their chances of success. The program helps startups strengthen their product and build their business strategy. 

Sanjay Srinivasmurthy, Co-founder & Director, Silicon Road, India added “With our Y2020 edition of the acceleration program, we aim to help startups & enterprises speed up their startup journey. The startups will undergo sessions on growth hacking, product design, branding & marketing, along with multiple bootcamps that will enable the startups to focus on the various core functions in the Food and Retail Technology. We hope to see more innovative Retail and FoodTech startup ideas in this edition.”

The first cohort of the accelerator had 7 startups - GetPY, IndiBean Coffee, Dhriti Bio Solutions, Ornativa Fashion, Q-Online, Meatup and Pickurflick. 

Interested startups can apply here: http://siliconroad.vc/in/accelerators/

About Silicon Road: Silicon Road is an early-stage venture fund and accelerator on a mission to create the world’s first innovation ecosystem for retail and food-tech companies in collaboration with scientists, startups, academia, and investors.

Huddle, growX partner to bring India’s 1st Acceleration program for Electric Vehicle Startups

: RACEnergy and Cell Propulsion are the two shortlisted start-ups who have been brought onto their portfolio

Huddle, a startup incubator and accelerator, in partnership with growX ventures, an early stage venture fund, launched India’s first acceleration program for startups in the electric vehicles industry in June 2019.

As part of the program, selected startups would be provided access to a dedicated mentor from Huddle, seed investment led by growX ventures and business development and relevant pilot opportunities with companies such as Exide, TATA and Swiggy to name a few partner organisations that were supporting the Huddle - growX EV accelerator.

After evaluating over 170 applications from Indian start-ups building solutions in segments within EV like charging infrastructure, battery swapping, micro mobility, electric vehicle components and data analytics solutions, Huddle and growX have announced RACEnergy and Cell Propulsion as the two shortlisted start-ups who have been brought onto their portfolio and will undergo the acceleration program.

Founded by BITS Pilani graduates Arun Shreyas and Gautam M, RACEnergy is building a high performance retrofit kit for converting existing three wheelers autos to electric and providing energy infrastructure support through its proprietary battery swapping stations. “Electric vehicle adoption has been the greatest in the three-wheeler segment in India but only for low-speed vehicles or electric rickshaws. High-speed three wheelers still remain unaffordable for the bulk of drivers and the supply is limited,” said Sanil Sachar, partner at Huddle. “RACEnergy will enable auto drivers to transition to electric, thereby allowing them to drive more, reduce operating costs and earn more per ride.” The startup has received funding from growX Ventures, Prophetic Ventures and other prolific angel investors; as they kick start their association with Huddle and growX. 

The second shortlisted startup is Cell Propulsion, which is building an integrated electric powertrain for light commercial and heavy commercial vehicles adapted for Indian climatic conditions. Most manufacturers rely on imports for fulfilling their supply chain needs for electric vehicles. Cell Propulsion aims to provide an indigenous solution by providing durable, affordable and customized products in India. Founded by Nakul Kukar, Supratim Naskar, Paras Kaushal and Sridhar Ramasubban, Cell Propulsion has successfully completed the conversion of a diesel bus to electric in a pilot with Bangalore Municipal Transportation Corporation (BMTC). The Bangalore-based startup also counts Endiya Partners as one of its investors.

Huddle announced that it is still in conversation with startups to accelerate as part of the program which they have stated will be an ongoing process for them, as they focus on startups building solutions unique to India. “There is no universal playbook for electric vehicles and solutions that have worked well in developed countries cannot be copy-pasted to India.” said Ishaan Khosla, partner at Huddle. “Both RACEnergy and Cell Propulsion have an in-depth understanding of India ecosystem and we are proud to be partners in their respective visions”.

Apart from the two startups shortlisted as part of venturing into the EV sector, Huddle has also incubated companies such as leading health super food startup Ketofy, blockchain company 1Ramp, data over sound technology company Trillbit, and a portfolio of over 20 ventures, that include several that have successfully raised funding and traction across their sectors. Delhi-based growX ventures is a deep technology fund  that focused on seed and pre-series A investments. Its portfolio includes companies such as Locus, Meddo, Progcap and Advantage Club among others.

About Huddle:

Huddle is one of India’s leading sector-agnostic incubators working with startups across industries, with the primary focus of working closely with the founders of each venture and supporting them through the business functions that require assistance in order to get them to the next stage of their business life cycle. 

In order to do so, Huddle provides each startup brought on board a dedicated Huddle mentor, therefore following a methodology of one mentor - one mentee. In order to provide contextual support to each startup, Huddle's mentor base consists of 35 industry-specific experts from around the country, that are either leading entrepreneurs or CXO's of large corporations, with a common interest and expertise in having worked with startups as mentors and investors. 

Headquartered in Cyber City, Gurugram, Huddle’s incubation has grown ventures across India. 

9 Startups Graduate From Zone Startups India’s empoWer Accelerator Program

• empoWer, India’s first tech accelerator for women entrepreneurs, hosted a Demo Day for its 4th Edition with a cohort of 9 startups 


• The 2019 cohort presented their startup pitches to an audience and jury consisting of investors, corporates, entrepreneurs, government partners and industry experts


• Top 3 startups received a total cash grant of INR 37.5 Lakhs


• One startup was selected for a one-week market access to Quebec.

Zone Startups India hosted the demo day of the 4th cohort of empoWer accelerator program, at the BSE International Convention Centre. The 4-week accelerator program culminated in top 9 women entrepreneurs from the cohort presenting their startups, with over 50+ leading industry players, successful entrepreneurs, top corporate professionals, delegates from the government, and prolific investors in attendance.

The 4th Edition of empoWer was launched on June 21, 2019, inviting applications from technology-led women-owned businesses in enterprise tech, social impact and consumer tech. This 2019 edition is sponsored by BSE CSR Integrated Foundation and launched in partnership with the Québec Government. Post the program announcement, roadshows were held across 4 cities in India with the final launch in Mumbai to pool in the best technology startups from diverse sectors.The roadshows attracted a total of 150+ attendees. With 270+ applicants received for the program, top 14 startups were selected for empoWer bootcamp. 

The 3-day bootcamp took place in September 2019, with focus on designing business model, pitch coaching sessions and peer to peer knowledge sharing. 9 women founders from the bootcamp were on-boarded as a part of the 4-week accelerator program.

The sectors ranged across logistics, healthcare, AgriTech, capacity building, virtual reality, FinTech, IoT, interior design, and crowdfunding. empoWer accelerator program took on a fresh approach this year by providing sector-specific connects locally with mentors, investors and corporates. They were also hosted for one-on-one meetings in Mumbai with the legal firm, Lexstart, and Finance & Accounting firm, Savage & Palmer. One-on-one investor meets were facilitated with Artha Fund Ventures, BayTree and Unicorn Ventures.

Says Hemant Gupta, MD, Zone Startups India – “This is the 4th edition of empoWer and we have leveraged the learnings from the past 3 editions to make it more impactful. We have a tight cohort of 9 startups that have undergone two rounds of screening. Rather than calling the startups to Mumbai multiple times, we have moved to a localised model of support, providing the startups the support/mentorship/connects they need in their cities’ of operation. However, the core of the program stays the same, we will be supporting and tracking these startups even after the Demo day and providing them the support they need to scale and succeed”.

The opening fireside chat at the empoWer Demo Day was delivered by Dharti Desai, Vice President - TiE New York and Vice-Chair TiE International Women and was moderated by Harshit Desai, Head - customer experience, strategic initiatives and digital, Aditya Birla Capital, with a focus on how startups can scale their startups to a global level with the role that communication plays in its success.

The fireside chat was followed by a high-profile panel discussion moderated by Rashmi Bansal, author, entrepreneur and a youth expert. The panelists included Akshay Soni, Managing Director - N/Core, Sharda Agarwal, co-Founder - Sepalika and Marketgate and Functional Nutrition Therapy Practitioner from the Nutrition Therapy Association, Hariharan Mahadevan, Senior Vice President and Head of Strategic Projects, Analytics, MIS and CSR at ICICI Securities, and Prachi Jain, Director at Achieving Women Entrepreneurs Funds. The talk addressed one of the major pain points in the ecosystem for women entrepreneurs i.e. Funding challenges.

Akshay Soni, Dharti Desai, Hariharan Mahadevan, Prachi Jain and Sharda Agarwal donned the jury hat to judge the 9 startups from the 2019 cohort that presented their startups. Pratyusha Pareddy, Co-founder of Nemo.Care, emerged as the winner of the empoWer cash grant of INR 18 lakhs. Nupur Gupta, Co-founder of NIRA and Monika Shukla, Co-founder of LetsEndorse, were announced as the first and second runner-ups respectively, with a cash grant of INR 12 lakhs for the 1st runner-up and INR 7.5 Lakhs for the 2nd runner-up. The cash grants were supported by BSE CSR Integrated Foundation.

Based on the international scalability potential, NemoCare was offered a one-week market access trip to Montreal by Government of Quebec, tentatively scheduled for May 2020.

Francis Paradis, Consul & Director of the Quebec Government Office in Mumbai shared a few words about the startup selection for the market access trip with empoWer. He says, “Use of smart technology in neonatal care helps to nurture a healthy generation. Who else but a woman can understand it better! Hence, Nemocare was an obvious choice of Quebec government as we give priority to diversity, women empowerment, health care and AI. We are delighted to see all these points converge in the winner of empower 2019 cohort who will be eligible for a Quebec market access trip in 2020."

The program participants had great things to share about empoWer. “empoWer is the push and conviction that every entrepreneur needs in their journey. The accelerator program opens doors to numerous industry experts relevant to your line of business. BECKFriends.com benefitted from the connects made with blockchain experts and international delegates for market access. And while the program ends, the network remains to be reached out for any advice or access needs. This has been a truly empowering and enriching 4 weeks!”, says Shikha Pandey Co-Founder, BECKFriends.com.

empoWer now has a cumulative cohort size of 79 women entrepreneurs, built over 4 cohorts. The empoWer cohort will receive year-long post-program support.

Airtel Acquires Stake in Vahan; Launches Startup Accelerator Program

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s largest integrated telecommunications company, today announced the launch of its Startup Accelerator Program to support growth of early stage Indian tech startups. With the advent of its Start-up Accelerator Program, Airtel aims to support the creation of a vibrant start-up ecosystem that contributes to “Digital India”.

Through Airtel’s Startup Accelerator, early startups get access to Airtel’s online and offline distribution network, deep market understanding and ecosystem of global strategic partners. In addition, Airtel has also developed strong in-house capabilities around machine learning and artificial intelligence which could be leveraged to aid the growth of startups. Furthermore, startups also get access to advisory services from Airtel’s executive team.

Vahan is the first to join Airtel Startup Accelerator

Airtel announced the induction of Bengaluru based tech startup Vahan into its Startup Accelerator Program. Airtel will acquire a stake in Vahan and partner with them in building significant scale to achieve their vision of enabling jobs for the next billion internet users.

Founded in 2016 and backed by YCombinator and Khosla Ventures, Vahan leverages advanced Artificial Intelligence to match job seekers with employers inside messaging apps such as Whatsapp. It is focused on finding blue collar jobs for millions of young Indians in Delivery, Driving, Retail, BFSI, BPO and Hospitality sectors with companies such as Zomato, Swiggy and Dunzo as clients.

Adarsh Nair, Chief Product Officer, Bharti Airtel said: “Today, early stage startups in India have some very exciting ideas but face multiple challenges in scaling up. With Airtel’s scale and digital capabilities around distribution and payments, we have the potential to drive accelerated growth of emerging startups that are solving hard problems. The team at Vahan is doing some incredible work to bring jobs to millions of people through AI based technology. We are excited to partner with them on this vision.”

Madhav Krishna, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vahan, said: “Airtel will be a key partner for us as we look to solve a hard problem for Bharat. Most blue-collar job seekers are unaware of the opportunities that exist in the market, especially new-age on-demand jobs. Airtel’s distribution channels will help us reach the very depths of the country and in turn, help millions of Indians take control of their economic destiny. We are incredibly excited about this partnership.”

DP World launches Log-X, A National Tech Accelerator for Logistics

Global trade enabler DP World today launched Log-X, a national technology accelerator platform for logistics, in partnership with Invest India, Kerala Start-Up Mission and its accelerator partner Startup Réseau, to encourage innovation and technology adoption in the Indian logistics sector.

The accelerator program is specially curated for entrepreneurs in the logistics and other associated sectors. The goal is to catalyze Indian entrepreneurs and the start-up community to develop smart trade solutions by leveraging massive opportunities offered by digital technology.

Log-X was launched by Rizwan Soomar, CEO and Managing Director, DP World Subcontinent; in the presence of Mike Bhaskaran, Global Chief Digital Officer of DP World.

The Log-X technology accelerator platform will focus on digital technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, robotics, simulators and Internet of things (IOT systems). The platform will seek to identify logistics-focused technology start-ups through Startup India portal and will look to onboard up to 10 selected start-ups for conducting pilots, with a long-term objective of partnerships, strategic engagements and proof-of-concept development. The finalized start-ups will be mentored by DP World leadership team and external mentors on-boarded to the program.

Rizwan Soomar, CEO and MD, DP World Subcontinent, said: “Technology adoption and innovation will play a strong role in building an integrated logistics platform which offer end-to-end solutions for cargo owners. DP World wants to encourage the creation of a start-up eco-system for logistics and supply-chain focused innovators with an aim to reduce the costs of logistics in India and make India’s exports more competitive. The LogX accelerator program is a unique partnership between DP World, Invest India and the Start-Up Kerala Mission to encourage innovation across the value chain in the logistics sector in India. Stronger technology adoption in the logistics sector will also improve transparency, reliability and predictability in the supply chains across the country. This will be transformative for India.”

Deepak Bagla, MD & CEO, Invest India, said: “This is a unique partnership and the first in the logistics sector. We are very pleased to be partnering with DP World on this unique initiative to drive innovation in the sector. We look forward to working with the final start-ups who are chosen by the Log-X accelerator platform.”

Invest India is the national investment promotion and facilitation agency for India, envisaged to be the first point of reference for potential investors. Invest India also has a series of initiatives including the India Investment Grid which showcases up-to-date information on investible projects, Startup India, an initiative to catalyse and support the startup ecosystem, AGNii, for linking Indian science and innovation to enterprise, and the Project Monitoring Group to accelerate large-scale projects.

 

India Accelerator and Startup Buddy Joins Hands for its Winter Cohort Accelerator Program

India Accelerator, a seed-stage Accelerator and the only GAN-partnered accelerator in India, in association with Startup Buddy, is now inviting applications for its winter cohort programme from across the country.

The program provides focused support to entrepreneurs through an environment that helps them focus on their products and expand their market outreach, supports the acquisition of business knowledge, facilitates the raising of necessary finance, introduces the entrepreneurs to business networks, all of which substantially reduce the level of failure.

Providing “cash, competency, connects” and a hands-on learning experience in both Indian and international markets, the accelerator welcomes good ideas from across sectors and domains.

Startups wishing to receive acceleration benefits have until 31st October to https://www.indiaaccelerator.co/accelerator/programs/

According to the accelerator’s website, applying early may increase chances of selection.

Mona Singh, Co-Founder, India Accelerator said “This exclusive program will help IA’s Startups to move beyond the startup phase by equipping them with the knowledge, tools, and connections needed for their next stage of growth. Focus is on serious acceleration & the program is designed to support and navigate startups through the process of operationally scaling their business while generating meaningful relationships with IA Partners, mentors, and investors. Successful Founders & Corporate CXOs from across the Community spread across the Globe will be the primary mentors for the program.”

Amit Singal, CEO, Startup Buddy said "I am excited with Partnership of Startup Buddy with India Accelerator for Winter 2019 Cohort. Joint efforts by two established Organisation in the field will give more power to the Program"

About India Accelerator:

India Accelerator (IA) is a seed-stage accelerator program that offers four months of rigorous guidance, funding, mentoring, business and technology services support and sources from mentors, partners and investors. IA takes early stage technology-based startups and help them rapidly build a sustainable business. What differentiates IA from other programs is its unrelenting focus on growth, on de-risking the assumptions, on helping companies prioritize their customers and product. The philosophy is that if the customers and product are taken care of, everything else will fall in place. It is the ONLY GAN partnered, mentorship-driven, program in India.

About Startup Buddy:

Startup Buddy is a one-stop shop offering end-to-end solutions of financial and startup advisory services, supporting, investing and helping startups raise funds through its network.

UIncept is Inviting Applications for its 2nd Season of Acceleration Program

Founder and Chief Mentor- UIncept, Manish Gupta comes with over 25 years of rich experience in spearheading Jagan Group of Institutions having colleges and universitiesacross India.

Gathering his thoughts on the Program, He firmly believes, building a conducive space for entrepreneurs to help them fast track their entrepreneurial journey is very important. It’s critical for entrepreneurs to understand the complete business ecosystemto contribute to the economic and social growth of the country, with the right guidance and support.

UIncept functions under the leadership of CEO Ms Divvya, a vibrant entrepreneur and strategy nester. Advisor (entrepreneurship and EdTech),Manish UpadhyayCo-founder LIQVID, who has over 24 years of experience in ELearning – EdTechIndustry is In-charge of the acceleration program.

Be it the right network of mentors, investors, or partnering with tech support brands, UInceptis pulling every string it can to empower the future change makers.

About UIncept’s Acceleration Program


The 6-month structured program, to be held at UIncept’sGurgoan campus, will be a customised and milestone driven programdesigned to address unique business ideas. The aim of the program is to support business entrepreneurs scale up their ventures. Mentors from India's most prestigious institutions and B-Schools, founders from successful enterprises, technocrats working with leading technology companies will head boot camps and sessions to cover all business aspects.

The program in a nutshell

• KPI/Milestone driven program


• Weekly 1:1 sessions with quality in-house resources (EIR, Growth Hacker, etc)


• Bootcamps on core functions including Design, Tech, Growth Hacking


• Regular Mentorship from experts as per requirements

Access to world class office space

• Office space for each startup in Gurgaon for a duration of 6 months


• Modern and stylish coworking spaces, Conference rooms with advanced projection technology


• Event space to accommodate 100-120 attendees Multipurpose room for training sessions, telephone booths, library with entrepreneur-recommended books and an Ideation lab to bring Ideas to life.

Access to Investors, Investments and value partners

• Seed fund to selected startups from the program up to INR 6 Lakhs, upon the discretion of UIncept


• Introduction to Investors, angels& VCs across industries for attracting further funding


• Partner benefits to support cash burn including cloud credits, marketing credits, CRM benefits, payment gateways, etc

Access to network in Education Industry

• Network and collaborate with various stakeholders of the education industry including schools, colleges, universities, publishers, etc


• Opportunity to pilot with colleges and universities in the network


• Access to international network associated

All this is provided to the promising startups for an equity of 3%.

You can apply for the program https://www.uincept.com/acceleration#application-form

India Accelerator to Induct 10 Startups in its 3rd Demo Day

India Accelerator, a seed-stage accelerator program for start-ups is organising their 3rd Demo Day on 3rd August 2019 in Palms Country Club, Gurugram. 10 Indian start-ups including VAPP, Charitism, Gigzo, DROR, The Knotty Tales, Pritvi.ai etc will be a part of the Demo Day.

The Demo Day is an experiential environment for start-ups to put forth their ultimate and final pitches, get exposure and interact with Industry-specific investors, business mentors and like-minded people. The startups will present their best pitches and secure funding, mentors and network. Demo Day by IA will provide a platform to high potential start-ups to strengthen their network and stand out in the start-up community.

India Accelerator is the only GAN partnered, mentorship-driven, acceleration program in India. Twice a year, they select, fund, & build 5-7 start-ups as part of the 4-month Bootcamp. For over these 16 intensive weeks, they attempt to turn their embryonic ideas into full-fledged valuable businesses.

Mona Singh, Founder, India Accelerator, reiterates, “With the acceleration program we aim to focus the startups on further developing their product, team and market, refining their business model, achieving product/market fit and scaling the start-up into a high growth business, etc. and culminate them at Demo Day. We look forth to the day and hope it to be constructive enough for them.”

Japan's Rakuten Social Accelerator to Launch in India

Rakuten, Inc., a global leader in internet services headquartered in Tokyo, today announced that its social innovation initiative, Rakuten Social Accelerator, is expanding globally with the launch of the program at its Development and Operations Center in Bengaluru, Rakuten India.

Drawing on the success of the program launched in Japan during 2018, Rakuten India selected three local non-profit organizations, Robin Hood Army, Wildlife SOS and Samarpana Charitable Trust for The Disabled, as inaugural partners for 2019. By working with Rakuten, these partners will be able to make full use of the company’s global portfolio of online services and brand visibility, as well as gain access to industry talent to move their business plans forward at a previously unattainable scale.

“I’m thrilled with the launch of Rakuten Social Accelerator in India,” said Narendra Narayana, Chief Operating Officer, Rakuten India. “Rakuten is built on a philosophy of empowering society and through this program, our aim is to solve crucial social challenges by partnering with entrepreneurs who are passionate about creating tangible impact. I am delighted to welcome Robin Hood Army, Wildlife SOS and Samarpana Charitable Trust as our first partners in India.”

Robin Hood Army comprises of a group of working professionals, students, home makers connected on a common platform that works towards creating awareness around food wastage and eliminating hunger, while Wildlife SOS aims to protect wildlife and conserve habitat by creating alternative and sustainable livelihoods for poacher communities that depend on wildlife for sustenance. Samarpana Charitable Trust for The Disabled (R) Tumakuru works for the visually disabled and aims to empower them to use their talent to live independently.

First launched in Japan during 2018, Rakuten Social Accelerator is a collaboration program that brings together social entrepreneurs, not-for-profit organizations and Rakuten employees, each with a social mission to tackle critical issues facing society today using technologies and business assets.

Over the next 5 months of the program in India, a team of 20 Rakuten employees will volunteer their time and technical expertise to develop comprehensive applications that will help these organizations expand and scale their operations.

Since its founding in 1997, Rakuten has strived to grow its business with its mission to “contribute to society by creating value through innovation and entrepreneurship” based on the philosophy of advancing and enriching society through high-quality services that help its users and partners grow. In its sustainability efforts, Rakuten also promotes various activities both in Japan and abroad to realize a sustainable society based on the shared values of the Rakuten Group.

About Robin Hood Army

Robinhood Army is a group of working professionals, students and home makers connected on a common platform that works towards creating awareness around food wastage and eliminating hunger. The Rakuten team will work with Robin Hood Army to develop a comprehensive application with quick communication tools that will connect donors, beneficiaries, and volunteers (clusters) to effectively avoid wastage and serve food to the needy on time. For more information please visit https://robinhoodarmy.com/.

About Wildlife SOS

Wildlife SOS aims to protect wildlife and conserve habitat by creating alternative and sustainable livelihoods for poacher communities. The team of volunteers at Rakuten will work together with Wildlife SOS to scale their operations and connect poacher communities, animal welfare ambassadors, government agencies, all on one platform. For more information please visit https://wildlifesos.org/.

About Samarpana Charitable Trust for The Disabled (R) Tumakuru

With an aim to empower the visually disabled to live independently, Samarpana Charitable Trust for The Disabled and Rakuten employees will come together to develop a customized application that will connect the disabled community and showcase their talent to event organizers across the country.

Partner organizations collaborate with Rakuten employees and together spend 6 months developing technology-based solutions to further accelerate and scale their businesses. Social entrepreneurs participating in the program benefit from Rakuten’s broad-ranging experience in internet-related services. To read more about the success of Rakuten Social Accelerator, visit https://rakuten.today/blog/rakuten-social-accelerator.html.

Rakuten India Enterprise Private Limited, established in 2014 in Bengaluru, is a key product research and development center in the Rakuten Group network. It provides e-commerce related engineering and mobile developmental initiatives along with innovative data and insight products for Rakuten’s global ecommerce operations. It also manages Rakuten’s global network and security operations to provide secure global cloud and network infrastructure services.

Last December, Rakuten opened its India research and development (R&D) institute in Bangalore to focus on deep learning, computer vision and robotics for warehouse logistics applications.

Rakuten, Inc. is a global leader in internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to more than 1.2 billion members around the world. The Rakuten Group has over 17,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions.

Source - Business Wire India feed

CoWrks Foundry and Yale Institute Launch Health Accelerator Program; Cohort 6 Startups

Earlier this year, the CoWrks Foundry partnered with the Yale Institute for Global Health (YIGH), supported by RMZ Foundation, to announce the collaborative Sustainable Health Initiative (SHI).

The SHI is a 24-week long interdisciplinary business accelerator program for young & early stage startups building innovative solutions in healthcare. On 7th June, the program officially launched with an event at CoWrks Residency Road to commemorate the partnership, by announcing the startups selected for the prestigious program.

In attendance from Yale were Sten H. Vermund, M.D., Ph.D., (Dean, Yale School of Public Health) and Michael Skonieczny (Deputy Director, Yale Institute for Global Health). The event was an exclusive gathering of healthcare entrepreneurs, experts in policy and seasoned practitioners. The objective of the event was to inspire and align and connect founders, investors and coaches. The event aimed at creating a community, with a shared focus on ushering innovative and scalable solutions to the Indian healthcare sector.

A keynote speech was delivered by Yale School of Public Health’s Dean Sten Vermund on the important role of social entrepreneurship in healthcare. Vermund’s speech was followed by a fireside chat between Vikram Damodaran, (Founder of five.eight), Anand Anandkumar (Founder of Bugworks) and Dr. Charit Bhograj (Founder of Tricog Health).

Moderated by Sten Vermund, the panel discussion was centered around the key challenges, opportunities and strategies in healthcare sectors in both rural and urban India. The event came to a close with all the shortlisted startups delivering immersive product pitches to the audience. The inaugural cohort of the Sustainable Health Initiative (SHI) program comprised innovative startups building new age solutions across maternal health, infectious diseases, and healthcare accessibility and affordability.

The SHI program has been designed to power ‘Innovation’ for long-term social, health and environmental impact in emerging economies. With the ecosystem ripe for innovation, healthcare companies in India are effectively poised to impact billions in the country as well as globally.

The 6 startups cohorted are -

NAPS & NIBBLES

A one-stop solution platform for child wellness, providing parents access to high-quality, structured, and medically accurate information from top doctors and specialists.
Website: http://www.napsandnibbles.com/

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JIOVIO

Providing hassle-free and timely maternal care to expecting mothers and connecting high-risk patients to local healthcare providers. Jiovio’s wearable devices helps expecting mothers monitor their vitals, get expert consultation within minutes, and ensures a risk-free pregnancy.
Website: https://www.jiovio.com/

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ONWARD ASSIST: 

Using Machine Learning and AI to analyse, diagnose and predict the behaviour of cancer cells in patients. Onward Assist’s computer-based algorithm allows oncopathologists to gain deeper insights on the tumor and the neighbouring tissue and ensure more accurate prognosis and treatment protocols.
Website: http://www.onwardhealth.ai/

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METAMAGICS: 

Metamagics is a data analytics platform aimed at bridging the information gap in the organ transplant process - from pre-transplant regulatory compliance to patient care. Using dynamic and semantic technology, Metamagics facilitates successful organ transplants by enabling doctors, patients and caregivers to preempt and address complications before they turn fatal.
Website: http://www.metamagics.com/

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KHUSHI BABY: 

Khushi-TB (KTB) is a new technology adaptation of a successful platform currently used to track maternal and child health in rural India. This technology is being reapplied for tuberculosis treatment in urban slums. The platform provides TB patients with a wearable digital health record and health workers with a mobile application. With the app doctors can scan the wearable tag, see what medication to provide today, and update treatment progress.
Website: https://www.khushibaby.org/

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PREMIE BREATHE

Globally, 2.6 million newborns die within their first month of life every year, with nearly 90 percent of preterm deaths occurring in low- and middle- income countries due to complications including respiratory distress. To help end these preventable neonatal deaths , we have developed an affordable humidified high flow nasal cannula (HHFNC) device, designed and engineered to provide respiratory support to infants in district and referral hospitals in resource poor settings.

Website: https://news.yale.edu/2018/02/21/premiebreathe-gives-premature-babies-better-chance

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"The cohort that we've assembled today is the culmination of a highly selective global application process. After a tough and intensive review that included multiple rounds of interviews and diligence, we've shortlisted companies from both the Indian ecosystem and Yale that are solving a diverse set of complex problems with a mission to impact the life and health of millions across the world. We find this class to consist of humble founders, passionate missions and resilient business models and look forward to arm these companies with the expertise, frameworks and network required to succeed at scale,” said Nruthya Madappa, Managing Partner, The CoWrks Foundry.

As part of this program, each startup will receive up to USD $70,000 in seed funding, mentorship from Yale’s faculty and alumni, as well as benefits from a network of Indian industry experts. In addition, the program includes structured sessions to help startups evolve into a sustainable and scalable business model, refine their go-to-market strategy and build a global network.

“Around the world, we face growing health and economic disparities. The public sector cannot fully address the scope and scale of these challenges without private sector ingenuity and creativity,” stated Sten Vermund, Dean, Yale School of Public Health. “We are enthusiastic about the launch today of the Sustainable Health Initiative to further find innovate solutions that will have a significant impact on the health of communities in India, the U.S., and around the world.”

Huddle and growX Ventures together Launch Electric Vehicles Acceleration Program

Gurugram-based incubator and accelerator Huddle has partnered with growX ventures, inviting early stage ventures solving for use-cases relevant to the Electric Vehicles (“EV”) sector. The concentration for the acceleration program is to focus on B2B facing ventures based in India enabling the value chain across battery-level innovations, charging infrastructure, low-cost manufacturing, and data-driven solutions, to name a few sub-sectors they are targeting to support.

The selected startups will be provided upfront investment up to $150,000 with access to additional funds as the program proceeds, dedicated mentorship from Huddle’s reputed mentor base, pilot opportunities with large partner organisations and university research and data to help them scale.

The program will be open for applications for relevant ventures across India from May 27th to June 16th, 2019, with the acceleration program kick-starting on July 15th for a period of 3 months.

Application Form Link - https://huddleincubation.typeform.com/to/CdcC63

Key Highlights of the Programme

Area of focus will include innovations across the following four sectors. The information below highlights the overall scope of applications across each of these sectors.

Benefits from the Program

• Upfront investment up to $150,000 by growX in up to 3 select startups.



• Acceleration drove by Huddle, wherein a dedicated mentor will work on a one-on-one basis with each selected startup.




• Opportunity for a proof of concept, pilot or commercialization with top MNCs in line with the solution being developed, tested and sold.




• Opportunity to raise a further round of investment to the tune of >$500k, led by growX or other reputed institutional investment partners.




• Access to faculty and research insights from top universities to validate the technology and use cases, in addition to testing developments.

As part of this program, reputed national and international organizations have partnered to assist the growth in the Electric Vehicles industry, space witnessing increasing growth and support by the public and private stakeholders. Huddle and growX ventures have come together with key stakeholders in the form of OEM’s, battery manufacturers, power and energy focused companies, as well as key fleet and last-mile delivery companies, to strengthen these efforts as part of the acceleration.

An overview of the focus sub-sectors is highlighted below

Battery-level Innovations:

• New battery technology to improve performance and operating feasibility  driven through operational efficiencies, operating performance levels, and cost of setup.

Battery Management Systems (BMS) and software applications to improve the operating efficiency, measure usage behavior/predictability and drive R&D.

 

Charging Infrastructure:

• Innovative models around battery swapping and/or infrastructure setup.

Relevant business models around public vs. private partnerships to explore means of the setup of new charging infrastructure.

Innovations around charging mechanism, which could include means to improve the charging process, facilitating superfast charging or building EVSE management software.

Low-Cost Manufacturing:

• Manufacturing setups and models to improve the unit economics, further enabling increased accessibility and scale across sectors.

Retrofitting techniques and processes to improve adoption at the commercial level.

Data-driven Solutions:

• Leveraging data inputs and insights to keep a track of performance metrics, in turn improving the scope for efficiency.

Data analytics tools and platforms to gather actionable data sets, which can be leveraged to improve performance at a product/solution level for multiple stakeholders.

Support service applications leveraging SaaS-based models to enable further productivity to different stakeholders in the value chain.

Models leveraging the network layer across product/service level, through innovations such as IoT enabled solutions.

Facebook, T-Hub Open Applications from AI Startups for 2nd Edition of "India Innovation Accelerator" Programme

Facebook, in partnership with the global startup catalyst T-Hub, on Friday announced to open applications for the second edition of the "India Innovation Accelerator' programme.

In the first edition, T-Hub and Facebook selected a cohort of nine start-ups from 20 shortlisted applications for the three-month programme. These start-ups offered solutions with the potential to solve real-world problems in industries such as health tech, industrial manufacturing, human resources, education and corporate learning, among others.

The India Innovation Accelerator will now focus on identifying and empowering most innovative startups leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based solutions.

"With the second edition of the India Innovation Accelerator programme, we want to help build the ecosystem for AI in India and support startups with the resources and opportunities," said Satyajeet Singh, Head of Platform Partnerships, Facebook India and South Asia.

The programme will support a cohort of AI startups in the domains of empowerment of women and girls, agriculture, healthcare, education, climate change and resilient cities, etc.

"We are excited to partner again with Facebook and work with some of the best startups in India in AI for social good space," said Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub.

This Content was First Published in Business Standard Via IANS

US-based Silicon Road and NUMA Launches India Accelerator for Startups in Retail-Tech & FoodTech

Silicon Road US , a US-based Venture Fund and a RetailTech Accelerator, is launching Silicon Road India Retail & FoodTech Accelerator, a unique startup acceleration program conceptualized by Silicon Road and powered by NUMA , a France-based international innovation hub & startup accelerator.

Silicon Road and NUMA are partnering to launch a 4-month startup acceleration program providing international funded support and infrastructure for startups, particularly in Retail & FoodTech to fast-track startup growth.

Silicon Road empowers retailers to take charge of their own future, through investment in transformative innovation. We bring together industry, academia, and startups to co-create next-gen retail technologies.

Our unique program combines four key elements to create a maximum synergy:

• A strategic US fund financed by retailers; India fund comprising of GPs, LPs and other investors


• An accelerator program for early stage startups in India, and early & growth stage startups in the US


• A shared innovation lab and advisory services provided by Georgia Tech in the US


• Partnership agreements with CFTRI from a FoodTech standpoint

Funding and Support: Silicon Road will invest an initial seed amount of money (INR 25L) in all startups joining the program. Startups will also get access to the €700k worth of perks and to international & local investors for fundraising support with a further round of funding opportunity from Silicon Road for eligible startups during or after the program.

Access to international & local networks around the Retail & Food Tech industries: An actionable network is a key feature of any startup program. The selected startups will be introduced to the local & international network of food and retail tech corporates, mentors, research infrastructure, industry experts, founders, partners & foreign official delegations to enable the startups to build their own networks.

Tailored program to accelerate the Startup growth: In the beginning, startups will be taken through multiple bootcamps on the various core functions of a business including Design, Technology/Product, Growth Hacking, etc. to help startups strengthen their product and build a business strategy. At the end of these bootcamps, we will be helping each startup to create their OKR/roadmap with clear KPIs and in the next 3 months, we will support them on the execution of this roadmap.

Quality mentoring by some of the best mentors & in-house experts: The startups will be surrounded by some of the best in-house experts and introduced to the right mentors. In addition to the team, an Entrepreneur in Residence and Growth Hacker in Residence will support the startups to execute their product and growth strategy.

Free office space and infrastructure in Mysuru: The selected startups (at least one of the founders) will be working out of the Silicon Road campus and they will get a world class office infrastructure at Silver Spirit Tech Park for 6 months in the royal city Mysuru.

Silicon Road will be taking equity stake in exchange for the funding and acceleration program.

Call for application has been kickstarted for the first cohort, and startups can apply here by 20th April 2019, the program will kickoff in May 2019.

[Via Business Wire India]

Top Featured Image by Rama Khandkar from Pexels

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”.

Sodexo Launches Accelerator for Food Services Startups in India

Sodexo, a French food services and facilities management giant, has launched India's first-ever food accelerator to help startups in the $14 billion food services ecosystem. The accelerator will be operated in partnership with Zone Startups.

The startups, that Sodexo will choose for its accelerator program, need not necessarily be food apps and these can be companies solving some real-life problems with or without the help of technology.

Mumbai-based Zone Startups India will help Sodexo in conducting bootcamps, connecting startups with companies and investors in the food ecosystem and formulating go-to market strategy.

Notably, Sodexo runs a 3-months accelerator program under the name of Sparx Accelerator, however its not clear if the acceerator launched in India will be the same or under different name. The accelerator do not take equity in the startups it selects.

Rishi Gour, Country President, Sodexo On-Site Services India, said, “The urban food market continues to offer tremendous growth potential for Sodexo India and is at an inflection point with rapid digitalisation, evolving consumers and the entry of new players. With start-ups offering innovative technologies and business models, we look forward to creating new services together and generating a differentiated experience for our consumers.”

The accelerator will provide startups with access to Sodexo large corporate customer base. The company is also open to investing in these startups through its venture fund, said Gour.

While the accelerator will not be making any investments in the selected startups, it may use their services through partnerships, or in future, if there are synergies, it may also look at acquiring a few of them.

Sodexo also has a venture capital arm called Sodexo Ventures, which has made six investments so far, and having made the most recent investment in China's AEYE-GO, in last month only.

In France, Sodexo has picked up a majority stake in a food delivery company called FoodCheri that was a part of its food accelerator.

“Here in India, we are looking at certain B2B food companies. We are at present inviting applications, and by the end of January, we will select a few,” Gour said.

He added that if Sodexo identifies a startup that has the potential to scale up globally, its €50 million venture fund might look at investing in them.

Sodexo, which is well-known in India for its flagship Sodexo meal vouchers, is globally known for its facility management services which include operating cafeterias and food canteens for corporates, manufacturing units and institutions. In India, the company is also trying to reach out to the consumers indirectly through its on-site services.

Ajay Ramasubramaniam, Director of Zone Startups India, said that, “In the last few years, food-technology has been disrupting the start-up ecosystem. This has led to the emergence of several innovative consumer brands that need funds and hand-holding to scale up further."

It may be recalled that this is not the first food related accelerator in India, as in 2015 Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM Ahmedabad has launched India’s first Food & Agri-Business accelerator for startups in food and agri-business sector.

In September last year, GSF, Ia tech accelerator founded by Rajesh Sawhney, and Infobridge have had launched Agrifood tech accelerator called "Gastrotope".

Source - Business Line

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