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IBM announces competition for B2B startups in India

Posted on September 6, 2014 by

startup competition

India suddenly seems to be on the top of the agenda for most funding & accelerator programs.

IBM has announced a competition for startups based in India, positioning it as “India`s first competition for B2B startup by a corporate.” The IBM SmartCamp judges the best startups in different cities around India, rewarding the winners with mentoring services, access to industry experts & deeper partnership opportunities with IBM.

The company told Whats New On The Net that it will be shortlisting the top 30 startups in the B2B space & would then host a pitching session before a panel of leading IBM execs & VCs on October 9 in Bangalore .  Out of the 30 shortlisted, the top 10 winners will be announced on October 9 itself.

There is a bouquet of prizes for the winners:

All 30 shortlisted startups would be getting an award certificate from IBM
All 30 startups would be an be showcasing their product/ platform to IBM Sales at an exhibition on October 10
Opportunities to interact with Jason Mosakowski, Country Leader, IBM  India & South Asia Software Group & Mauricio Sucasas, Director, Ecosystem Development, Asia Pacific
Top 5 startups from the 30 winners to get IBM Infrastructure for 2 months. In these 2 months, mentorship on technology & business would be provided along with close interactions with IBM business & sales leaders
Top 3 startups to get office hours with BOLD where they have access to their team for Design, Data & Solution Strategy mentorship
Top 10 winners to be profiled by IBM & shared with VCs
Top 10 winners profile to be shared with India IBM sellers through IBM Intranet
Top 10 Winners would be eligible to apply for the regional Asia Pacific round of IBM Smartcamp.

To be eligible for the competition, IBM said applicants must be part of the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program. This is for startups to spark innovation & help startups bring technologies that tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues – such as healthcare, water management & efficient energy resources – with a faster, ‘Go to Market.’ Besides free IBM software credits, the startups under the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program can “leverage the best of IBM Technologies such as Bluemix, Big Data, Analytics, Mobility, IOT with the technology mentorship of IBM experts.”

The startups can also look forward to the Go to Market support from IBM to speed up their Sales Cycles. Startups can also make their Applications/ Platforms Enterprise ready by using the IBM labs facilities for stress testing.

To apply to the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program, startups need be less than 5 years old, should have a product or platform for enterprises & should be privately held.

All entries close on September 25, 2014.

You may also want to read: GenNext Ventures, Microsoft partner in India to launch accelerator program

Image Credit: IBMGEPIndia

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GenNext Ventures, Microsoft partner in India to launch accelerator program

Posted on September 5, 2014 by

Indian accelerator program

GenNext Ventures, the venture investment management arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), today signed a three-year partnership with Microsoft India, through Microsoft Ventures in India, to set up GenNext Innovation Hubs, a pan India initiative to catalyze the country’s technology startup ecosystem.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) allows GenNext Ventures & Microsoft Ventures to bring together key stakeholders—academia, students, entrepreneurs, investors, & corporates–at the GenNext Innovation Hubs & offer some of the most critical resources that startups need to be successful. Microsoft Ventures will help GenNext identify, shortlist, on-board promising startups & power the accelerator program. Microsoft Ventures will also provide these startups access to software and technology advice. At the end of the accelerator program cycle, GenNext will invest strategically & selectively in some of these IT startups.

Announcing the partnership, Dr R.A. Mashelkar, Chairman, GenNext Ventures said, “Technology startups, which are a key source of innovation in India, are at an inflexion point today. While the numbers have grown exponentially year on year, the industry is at a nascent stage. While several initiatives are underway to help startups, what is lacking is a national platform that seamlessly brings together all stakeholders and also provides the resources Indian startups need to be successful. That’s what we are aiming to do through GenNext Innovation Hubs, in our partnership with Microsoft Ventures.”

According to Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, the emerging trends in India’s technology startup space were fascinating–both in numbers and in diversity of ideas. He said, “At Microsoft, we have had a long-standing commitment to innovation, not just within but also in the IT ecosystems of markets we operate in. Microsoft Ventures is leading that for us in India. With this partnership, startups in India will have access to GenNext Ventures’ deep industry experience and Microsoft Ventures’ knowledge and IT industry network and strength.”

The GenNext Innovation Hub at Mumbai will provide the opportunity to a select group of entrepreneurs to launch or re-engineer their company through an immersive, 4-month-long program. Startups in the program will have access to business mentors, technical & design experts, along with plug & play office space. They will also have access to mentors to help them gain market insights for Indian & global markets.

The Mumbai GenNext Innovation Hub is now open to receiving applications for the accelerator program. Startups are requested to apply online.

The last date for receiving applications is September 25, 2014. The program will commence with the first batch of startups on October 6, 2014 in the GenNext Innovation Hub at Navi Mumbai on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Image Credit: GenNext Innovation Hub

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