Fintech Valley Vizag Launches Accelerator Program For Tech Startups

A sustainable global Fintech ecosystem, Fintech Valley Vizag has launched the Fintech Valley Accelerator Program for tech startups in India. The Vizag has launched this program to develop a high potential fintech ecosystem focused on co-creating innovative solutions to address the evolving needs of India’s dynamic financial services landscape.

The accelerator program is in collaboration with ICICI Bank and Mahindra Finance as corporate partners and Microsoft as the technology & acceleration partner.

Commenting on the development, J A Chowdhary, Special Chief Secretary & IT Advisor to the Chief Minister- Government of Andhra Pradesh said, “The Government of Andhra Pradesh and Fintech Valley Vizag are committed to developing Fintech Valley Vizag as the epicentre to converge finance and technology and thereby create a high potential global fintech ecosystem and catalyse the sector’s growth in India. The accelerator program aims to act as a catalyst in the growth of startups by connecting them to the leading Fintech ecosystem players. We are excited to have partners like ICICI Bank, Mahindra Finance and Microsoft who have always leveraged technology by pioneering digital innovations to provide world-class banking experience to their customers.”

This four-month residential program will provide selected fintech startups an opportunity to grow their development through a combination of support, guidance, and training.

The first cohort of the accelerator program will have a group of selected finalists working to develop solutions for four key focus areas- financial inclusion, security, and fraud prevention and customer and risk analytics. The selection process for the accelerator program has commenced and will finalize 10-12 startups by mid-September. The first cohort will commence in the first week of October.

The program promoted by the government will further support the selected startups by providing access to technology resources, mentoring on fund raising, legal guidance, market access to over a million of customers from partner financial institutions amongst many other initiatives to speed up the process of scaling their businesses.

The selected participants of the accelerator program will also receive a financial incentive of Rs 4 lakhs to provide for any operational exigencies during the four-month duration.

Apart from this, ICICI Bank and Mahindra Finance will provide business mentorship to the selected fintech startups and explore partnerships with them by implementing their solutions in their ecosystem. Whereas Microsoft will provide technology and business mentorship to the selected startups and access to Microsoft products and services under its Bizspark program.

The program will conclude with a grand demo day in January 2018, in the presence of corporates, mentors and investors from across the world.

The AP Government is leaving no stone unturned to make AP the digital state in India. Andhra Pradesh’s new startup initiative, Fintech Valley Vizag, a flagship initiative is intends to bring together industry, academia, and investors to innovate, co-create, and build the fintech ecosystem, with the intent of making Visakhapatnam the fintech epicentre of the world.

Chowdary is hopeful that they will be able to create as many successful fintech startups as they can through their initiatives. He believes that India is a technology hub and is currently in a golden era where it has a lot of untapped opportunities to capitalize.

ISB Partners With Sap India To Nurture Tech Startups

The Indian School of Business (ISB) and SAP Labs India have entered into a collaboration to nurture technology-based startups. They will focus on the ventures dealing in the social space and that are working in areas that have relevance to national priorities.

According to a statement issued by the ISB, titled Jumpstart Social Enterprise Accelerator, the programme aims to identify and support 10 early stage and 5 growth stage promising ventures by providing guidance, mentorship and scaling up their technology solutions that can bring about a large scale impact on the lives of common people.

Commenting on the development, Dilipkumar Khandelwal, Managing Director of SAP Labs India said, "Through this initiative, we are supporting in creating investible and growth oriented social enterprises which can contribute to the economic development of our country."

Startups that are targeting sectors such as education, healthcare, water and sanitation, energy, agriculture, financial technology, infrastructure, livelihoods and others are eligible to apply for the programme, reports PTI.

According to the Dean of ISB, Rajendra Srivastava the B-School is committed to its goal of taking on a larger role of incubating and supporting entrepreneurial ideas as well as scaling up ventures that will potentially generate employment, foster economic and social progress and create significant social value for the country.

"The ISB SAP Jumpstart accelerator programme is one such initiative to support promising entrepreneurs in thinking big and help scale their businesses to create impact in areas of national priority and help build a better tomorrow," Srivastava concludes.

ABI, DST & Government of India Partner to Launch Women Entrepreneur Quest 2017 for Indian Tech Startups

The Anita Borg Institute India, a non-profit organization focused on the advancement of women in computing and technology today announced the 7th edition of the Women Entrepreneur Quest (WEQ) 2017. WEQ 2017 is a unique contest for technology startups founded by women in India. WEQ is organized at the annual Grace Hopper Celebration India (GHCI) conference. 10 award recipients can win an all-expenses-paid experiential learning visit to Silicon Valley, US.

WEQ 2017 is sponsored by the Anita Borg Institute India (ABI India) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. The Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) also plays an integral role in supporting and organizing WEQ 2017. The joint partnership has existed since 2014 and is strongly committed to supporting the Government of India’s policies and programs, promoting entrepreneurship among women in India. The WEQ 2017 Contest and Silicon Valley Learning Program is also focused on making women entrepreneurs aware of their own potential and providing them with that support and confidence to build successful businesses.
Women entrepreneurs who have founded technology startups in India are encouraged to take this opportunity and apply for WEQ 2017. The applications for Stage 1 of the contest close on 3 September, 2017.

During the Silicon Valley Learning Program to be organized in 2018, the WEQ Top 10 will get the opportunity to network among experienced leaders, professionals and peers. They will receive guidance and inspiration from some of the best minds in the Valley. The visit is also a great platform for each of the WEQ Top 10 to showcase their business in the Silicon Valley ecosystem. The winners will get to visit leading technology companies, startups, accelerators, incubators and universities in Silicon Valley.

“India ranks 70 out of 77 nations on the Female Entrepreneurship Index. Many studies and from what we see around us indicate that we need more Indian women to be entrepreneurs. ABI India along with the Government is trying to create avenues such as the WEQ contest that will encourage women entrepreneurs in technology. In the years to come we really hope to see many more successful women-founded businesses, among the new-generation technology organizations,” said Geetha Kannan, Managing Director, ABI India.

Dr Anita Gupta, Director/Scientist-F & Associate Head at the NSTEDB of the DST, Government of India said, “A number of initiatives to accelerate women entrepreneurship in India have been launched. These are being designed to equip them with knowledge, skills and networks required to navigate and scale up their startups. Our aim is to create a strong pipeline of women entrepreneurs every year. DST is focused on this aspect and is partnering with leading organizations such as ABI India in bringing about this transformational change in the workforce of India”, added Dr. Gupta.

Dr. Rajiv Tayal, Executive Director, Indo-U.S Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) said, “IUSSTF is happy to be associated with the women entrepreneurship program in partnership with DST and Anita Borg Institute”. This program is in sync with IUSSTF mandate to promote activities that would lead to Innovation and technopreneurship. The Silicon Valley ecosystem learning program for the winners of the WEQ Contest has provided a great platform for the Indian women entrepreneurs to link with the leading technology companies, startups, accelerators, incubators and universities in Silicon Valley.

MergerTech to Set Up a Center of Excellence to Give a Big Push to Tech Startups in India

Nitin Khanna, being a serial tech entrepreneur with several years of experience has announced his partnership with Mr. R. P. Singh,the CEO of Seasia Infotech to set up a Center of Excellence (CoE) for helping tech startups in India.

Under this initiative, they will jointly work on creating the CoE cores which will allow technology startup companies to use the co-working space of Seasia Infotech to work, learn and collaborate at no extra cost. CoE will offer these start ups with all support and services right from providing IOT and networking infrastructure to beta testing and customer access. In addition to this they also plan on providing financial support to these startups. Nitin Khanna recently invested US $5 million in a software startup iSoS Inc. The CoE collaboration shows his keen interest in supporting tech startups in India. However, it is the first time that Seasia Infotech is contributing to such an initiative.

Commenting on the development, Nitin Khanna, CEO of MergerTech said, “By helping startups, we hope to encourage more innovation in India’s technology marketplace while giving back to emerging technology companies. We are setting up a CoE for startups at Seasia Infotech. We will foster entrepreneurship, mentor entrepreneurs, incubate startups and provide all the assistance, support and training that they need to become successful entrepreneurs. The help needed for entrepreneurs is often in terms of guidance and in support services so that they can focus on their core offering.”

“IT related technologies will be the game changer for the industry and the economy in the next decade. We think that India is great in technical skills and just need direction to scale it up. Center of Excellence will offer a unique platform to tech startups, where they can come to work on their ideas and take it to completion. Our motive is to make available the right equipment, environment, coaching and funds at their disposal, so that they can succeed in their endeavors,” said R.P. Singh, CEO at Seasia Infotech. With the collaboration between Nitin Khanna and Seasia Infotech, the CoE will help in giving a supportive platform to train startups in the field of IoT.

Nitin Khanna draws on his substantial entrepreneurial and finance skills when assisting clients at MergerTech, an investment bank that specializes in technology firms. As CEO with the company, Mr. Khanna helps clients realize their value, find buyers, and secure excellent terms. Before embarking on his career, Nitin Khanna studied engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he earned his master of science and his bachelor of science.

Acquisitions Of Tech Startups Gone Down Dramatically In 2017 Globally

There used to be a time when the acquisition of tech companies was in trend. Techpreneurs, use to start their venture with the motive to sell it for million or billion dollars. But today story is altogether different. As per the report by TechCrunch, just 17 ‘well-funded’ private technology companies were acquired for more than $100 million so far in the year 2017. If we compare this figures with last year, the same number were sold with valuations of $500 million or more.

If we look at the deals, by the end of July 2017, there’s been only one big ‘unicorn’ ($1 billion valuations) deal that is Cisco’s $3.7 billion purchase of AppDynamics. Whereas in 2016 there were six such deals.

This number clearly states the slowdown in the tech acquisition. But what’s the reason behind it? Is it lack of innovation? or Are companies losing their interest in acquiring a startup with huge valuation? Money is not the reason behind it. As per the TechCrunch reports, more than 450 companies in many sectors has raised more than $20 million or more this year with 94 companies able to raise more than $100 million which is more than a third over last year.

Commenting on the development, David Blumberg, Managing Partner, Blumberg Capital told TechCrunch. “ It could be happenstance. Or some sectors may be running into resistance due to high multiples,”

So what’s the reason behind the slowdown? There could several factors which are affecting this slowdown. Some global companies are waiting to see where tax reform goes in Washington, where there’s talk of a potentially dramatic reduction in tax rates on cash repatriated back to the United States.

Whereas, many venture-backed companies are choosing to stay private for as long as possible and avoid ‘sub-optimal’ offers and return more to their original backers who hold shares.

Now time will only tell what future holds for these tech companies? Will acquisition rate increase or it will keep on going down?

IDG Ventures Collaborates With Unilever, AWS For 2017 Innovation Program

Tech-focused venture capital firm IDG Ventures India (IDGVI) has launched the 2017 Innovation Program, #IDGIP2017 to reach out to mushrooming startups across its core sectors of consumer tech, software, healthtech and fintech products space. This program shall be applicable to startups looking to raise Seed or Series A rounds between $0.5 million to $5.0 million.

Commenting on the development, Sudhir Sethi, Founder Chairman, IDG Ventures India said, “After the very successful 2016 Innovation Program, the 2017 edition expects to reach out to over 1,000 companies in the next 2 months and partner with/invest in select start-ups from Fund 3 to grow with IDG Ventures India’s unique growth platform. IDG Ventures will view early-stage Seed and Series A startups in this Program who are uniquely disruptive and are innovative leaders in the market”.

For the program, IDGVI will be collaborating with Unilever Ventures and Amazon Internet Services Private Limited (AISPL), the Indian affiliate of Seattle-headquartered Amazon Web Services, Inc.

UV has a strategic relationship with IDGVI as an investor and will evaluate companies as part of this program for potential co-investments. Also, the shortlisted companies will receive technology mentorship from the AISPL team and value-added benefits like AWS credits, premium business support and GTM connects.

Who Can Apply?

Startups, preferably less than three years old looking to raise Seed or Series A rounds between $0.5 million to $5.0 million of funding are encouraged to apply. Applications for the IDGVI Innovators Program are open from June 8 and close on June 26. The shortlisted startups will meet the IDGVI team in Bengaluru on 6 and 7July, where they will present to senior team members of IDG Ventures India and Unilever Ventures. Selected startups will then progress to the funding track while all the shortlisted companies can participate in mentoring sessions by AISPL and Unilever Ventures’ team on all aspects related to starting up.

As the most active tech-focused VC, IDGVI has run successful sector programs in 2016 that focused on consumer-tech and software. The 2016 program saw close to 1,000 applications from startups and via this program, IDGVI invested in six companies – Little Black Book, Flyrobe, Active.ai, Pipecandy, Hansel.io and Infisecure. Investment size varied from $0.5 million to $3.0million depending on the stage of each of the selected companies.

One can apply for the current programme here.

Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator Program Calls for Applications from Tech Startups

Following the launch of the Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator Program in Bengaluru and subsequent expansion into Delhi/NCR, Mumbai and other international markets, Oracle has successfully mentored and nurtured two batches of startups as part of this program in India. Today, at Oracle Code, Oracle announced calls for applications from early-stage technology startups to join this program in Bengaluru, Delhi/NCR and Mumbai. Registrations will be open from May 10, and the group will start in September 2017.

The Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator program provides startups with six months of training and mentorship, state-of-the-art technology, a co-working space, access to Oracle customers, partners and investors and free Oracle Cloud credits. Through this initiative, Oracle is looking to boost entrepreneurship, economic development and further the country’s digital agenda.

Unlike traditional accelerator programs, this is a next-generation acceleration initiative driven by Oracle R&D, and has a focus on reimagining enterprise innovation through true partnership with startups. The initiative targets medium-sized firms, including MSMEs[1] (micro, small, medium enterprises) and startups, which encompass a highly vibrant and dynamic sector of the Indian economy, contributing more than 37 percent[2] of India’s GDP.



Sanket Atal, Group Vice President of Development, Oracle India said, “We believe startups are at the heart of innovation. Supporting and building an efficient ecosystem for them is critical. We’ve had the opportunity to nurture some great business ideas with the startups we’ve worked with in the first two batches. As we continue to promote cloud innovation, we also involve Oracle’s global product development teams to identify opportunities where we can foster co-development. This is an exciting time for us and we look forward to continuing our support toward India’s startup community.”

Benefits of associating with Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator Program include:
• Over 125 hours of combined mentorship from Oracle and industry experts, which includes CTOs and CIOs of established startups and peer organisations
• 24x7 access to a co-working space within Oracle’s premises, with Internet connectivity. The space also includes an activity centre, a café, and a creative, fun, healthy working environment
• Access to Oracle’s vast ecosystem of customers and partners
• Ongoing interactions and sessions with the investor community
• Access to Oracle Cloud (including training), at no charge
• After completing the six-month program, the startups that have leveraged Oracle Cloud for their business may be eligible to continue using it for an extended period

“As a data science and predictive analytics company, the Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator program has empowered us with cutting edge cloud technology to analyze massive amounts of data,” said Naveen Setia, co-founder Farebond, one of the startups currently part of the program.

“The technology support and mentorship we’ve received from Oracle has helped us refine our product architecture. Based on their suggestions on UI/UX, we have been able to improve our product quality by several notches,” said Sathya Narayana, Founder & CEO, Re#hash.

Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator Batch One participants
• ExpertRec has developed a machine learning-based, plug-and-play search and recommendation solution for online marketplaces
• NiYO Solutions is a fintech startup focused on alternate payment mechanisms
• Ray IoT Solutions has developed a mobile-based sleep monitoring device to detect infant healthcare dysfunctions
• Tydy provides a mobile first, automated employee on-boarding platform
• Vear provides a device agnostic, augmented and virtual reality platform for content distribution and marketing

Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator Batch Two participants
• ezeDox is a digital locker built on the Aadhaar ecosystem using India Stack building blocks to connect organizations and users. It provides digitally signed online applications, eKYC enablement, storage, collaboration, categorization, tagging, browsing, and document sharing.
• Farebond.com is a data science and predictive analytics firm that provides dynamic price locks to hold airfares for undecided travelers, giving them more time to plan. It has an extensive risk management process to keep lock pricing attractive to end customers while mitigating the operational risks involved for air carriers.
• Re#hash is a platform for the post-sales lifecycle management of consumer products. After a product is purchased, this app enables repair, service, renew, resale, or recycle in just a few clicks. This is a one-stop tool to manage products from cradle (date of purchase) to grave (end-of-life recycling).
• Sonder Connect is a not-for-profit trust founded by four women who identify, nurture, and champion high potential women-led startups in India with the goal of growing them to be multimillion/billion dollar companies.
• Trendlyne is a financial services advisor marketplace that provides equity scoring, analytics (including interactive charts with bullish/bearish/fundamentals indicators), custom alerts, and an aggregated business newsfeed.

With 4,750 Tech Startups, India is Now Third Largest Startup Ecosystem in the World

India's startup ecosystem, which is considered as one of the fastest startup ecosystem in the world, has added another feather to its cap. From the year 2010 to now, the Indian technology startups landscape has seen a phenomenal growth towards creation of innovative startups. It now houses 4,750 tech startups -- the highest number in the world after the United States and Britain.

Success stories like Flipkart, Big Basket, Ola etc. have been responsible for making India the third largest base of technology startups in the world.

According to industry experts, India is now seeing the emergence of a new generation of youngsters who are brave enough to capitalize on the hard-won financial security of their parents' and venture out of the mundane 9 to 5 job routine and try their luck in the risky tech startup business.

More and more young people in the second largest populated country on the Earth are now embracing the startup culture, which can be seen as a stark contrast to the previous generations of the country which aggressively endorsed employment stability above all else.

Not only is India bettering its performance every year, but it is also giving a tough competition to tech startups all around the globe. Whether it is robotics, mobile apps, self-driving tech or smart kitchens, India is competing shoulder to shoulder with all tech innovations all around the world, and is in fact in some spaces, much ahead others.

From being just an outsourcing hub for Western technology companies looking for a cheap and well educated workforce to becoming the third largest base of technology startups in the world, India has come along a long way. The country's middle class giving its young people the freedom to experiment can be seen as a major factor in this success.

According to software industry association Nasscom, by the year 2020, India could see between 200,000 and 250,000 people working in tech startups, which is nearly double the current number.

According to a recent report published by Sage, a UK-based accounting and payroll company, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), which are considered premier institutes in the country, are the fourth largest producer of unicorn startups in the world.

India is currently home to 10 unicorn companies making them the poster boys of the country's startup ecosystem. From e-commerce biggies Flipkart, Snapdeal and ShopClues to restaurant aggregator Zomato, mobile adtech firm InMobi, analytics company Mu Sigma, classified ads platform Quickr, cab aggregator Ola, digital payments company Paytm, and messaging app Hike, these 10 are the members of the elite group of unicorn companies in India and almost all of them have founders from one of the IITs.

According to experts, even US President Donald Trump's latest crackdown on immigration -- including the proposed restructure of the H-1B working visas, which are often used by global tech firms to recruit foreign skilled workforce -- might work in favour of India's tech startups as the talent instead of heading out to fulfil their dreams will look to do the same on their local soil.

Well, for now, everything is surely looking up for the Indian tech startup scene.