The National Association of Software & Services (NASSCOM) today announced the launch of “10,000 Start-ups”, a program aimed at incubating, funding and supporting 10,000 technology start-ups in India over the next ten years. The program is partnered by Indian Angel Network and supported by Google, Microsoft and Verisign.
The program will focus on multifold activities aimed at fostering entrepreneurship, building entrepreneurial capabilities at scale and providing robust early stage support through incubation, mentorship and angel funding.
10,000 Start-ups brings together key stakeholders of the ecosystem including start-up incubators/accelerators, angel investors, venture capitalists, start-up support groups and technology corporations to support entrepreneurs at early stages of their venture. This initiative is a collaborative effort to empower young entrepreneurs to create ventures of global scale from India.
The program will focus on 3 core pillars to achieve the above goals:
1. Evangelize and create awareness about technology entrepreneurship as a preferred career option. India has an organized workforce of 30Mn of which 3Mn are IT professional.
2. Engage deeply with aspiring entrepreneurs through digital / social channels and start-up support groups to create entrepreneurial capability at scale. 10,000 Start-ups program will facilitate over 7,000 start-up events like hackathons, investor roadshows and best practices workshops across 30 cities. Tech talks and white space discussions will help young entrepreneurs identify global technology trends and needs.
3. Incubate and facilitate funding of 10,000 start-ups through partnerships with some of the leading incubators / accelerators and angel networks in India. 10,000 Start-ups will also extend support to incubators / funding partners in the form of industry connects and co-working infrastructure and a start-up kit consisting of hosting credits and other technology and business tools valued over $25,000.
Key partners already committed to the 10,000 Start-up program include:
Consulting partner: Zinnov
Angel partners: Chennai Angels, Harvard Angels, Hyderabad Angels, Indian Angel Network, Mumbai Angels, Silicon Valley Bank
Accelerators: 91Springboards, IAN Incubator, Kyron, Microsoft Accelerator, Tlabs, The Hatch, The Morpheus, Venture Nursery
Outreach partners: Headstart, NextBigWhat, Yourstory
Mr. Som Mittal, President NASSCOM, said, “10,000 Start-ups aims to catalyze the technology start-up ecosystem by 5X and create a significant national impact on employment, GDP, innovation and entrepreneurship indices. This is one of the largest initiatives that NASSCOM is undertaking and will be vital to realize the industry vision of USD 300 billion by 2020”.
Mr. Saurabh Srivastava, Founder, Indian Angel Network said, “IAN is very excited about the 10,000 Startups initiative and hopes to bring all angel investors together to provide the most key ingredient to make this program a success – seed capital and mentoring to convert ideas into enterprises from people who have “been there, done that.”
Mr. Rajan Anandan, VP and Managing Director, Google India said "With over 150 million internet users and growing, the internet in India presents enormous opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship. At Google we are very excited about the possibilities that India represents and are committed to extend all the support to make this initiative a roaring success. We will work very closely with NASSCOM and all the players in the ecosystem to boost the technology innovation rate in India."
Mr. Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India said, “Microsoft welcomes NASSCOM’s 10,000 Start-ups initiative, and is delighted to be a part of it. Microsoft has always believed in the potential of the Indian startup ecosystem, and has a long history of initiatives to promote it, through programs such as BizSpark, BizSpark Plus and the Microsoft Accelerator for Windows Azure. We will continue to work with the startup ecosystem of India, both on our own, and in partnership with industry bodies like NASSCOM. We believe that disruptive technologies and opportunities in the Indian market supported by this collaborative initiative will propel technology entrepreneurship in India to the next level”.
About NASSCOM
NASSCOM® is the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT and IT enabled products and services industry in India. NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 1400 members, which include both Indian and multinational companies that have a presence in India. Its vision is to help the IT/IT-enabled products and services industry in India to be a trustworthy, respected, innovative, and society-friendly industry in the world.
The program will focus on multifold activities aimed at fostering entrepreneurship, building entrepreneurial capabilities at scale and providing robust early stage support through incubation, mentorship and angel funding.
10,000 Start-ups brings together key stakeholders of the ecosystem including start-up incubators/accelerators, angel investors, venture capitalists, start-up support groups and technology corporations to support entrepreneurs at early stages of their venture. This initiative is a collaborative effort to empower young entrepreneurs to create ventures of global scale from India.
The program will focus on 3 core pillars to achieve the above goals:
1. Evangelize and create awareness about technology entrepreneurship as a preferred career option. India has an organized workforce of 30Mn of which 3Mn are IT professional.
2. Engage deeply with aspiring entrepreneurs through digital / social channels and start-up support groups to create entrepreneurial capability at scale. 10,000 Start-ups program will facilitate over 7,000 start-up events like hackathons, investor roadshows and best practices workshops across 30 cities. Tech talks and white space discussions will help young entrepreneurs identify global technology trends and needs.
3. Incubate and facilitate funding of 10,000 start-ups through partnerships with some of the leading incubators / accelerators and angel networks in India. 10,000 Start-ups will also extend support to incubators / funding partners in the form of industry connects and co-working infrastructure and a start-up kit consisting of hosting credits and other technology and business tools valued over $25,000.
Key partners already committed to the 10,000 Start-up program include:
Consulting partner: Zinnov
Angel partners: Chennai Angels, Harvard Angels, Hyderabad Angels, Indian Angel Network, Mumbai Angels, Silicon Valley Bank
Accelerators: 91Springboards, IAN Incubator, Kyron, Microsoft Accelerator, Tlabs, The Hatch, The Morpheus, Venture Nursery
Outreach partners: Headstart, NextBigWhat, Yourstory
Mr. Som Mittal, President NASSCOM, said, “10,000 Start-ups aims to catalyze the technology start-up ecosystem by 5X and create a significant national impact on employment, GDP, innovation and entrepreneurship indices. This is one of the largest initiatives that NASSCOM is undertaking and will be vital to realize the industry vision of USD 300 billion by 2020”.
Mr. Saurabh Srivastava, Founder, Indian Angel Network said, “IAN is very excited about the 10,000 Startups initiative and hopes to bring all angel investors together to provide the most key ingredient to make this program a success – seed capital and mentoring to convert ideas into enterprises from people who have “been there, done that.”
Mr. Rajan Anandan, VP and Managing Director, Google India said "With over 150 million internet users and growing, the internet in India presents enormous opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship. At Google we are very excited about the possibilities that India represents and are committed to extend all the support to make this initiative a roaring success. We will work very closely with NASSCOM and all the players in the ecosystem to boost the technology innovation rate in India."
Mr. Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India said, “Microsoft welcomes NASSCOM’s 10,000 Start-ups initiative, and is delighted to be a part of it. Microsoft has always believed in the potential of the Indian startup ecosystem, and has a long history of initiatives to promote it, through programs such as BizSpark, BizSpark Plus and the Microsoft Accelerator for Windows Azure. We will continue to work with the startup ecosystem of India, both on our own, and in partnership with industry bodies like NASSCOM. We believe that disruptive technologies and opportunities in the Indian market supported by this collaborative initiative will propel technology entrepreneurship in India to the next level”.
About NASSCOM
NASSCOM® is the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT and IT enabled products and services industry in India. NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 1400 members, which include both Indian and multinational companies that have a presence in India. Its vision is to help the IT/IT-enabled products and services industry in India to be a trustworthy, respected, innovative, and society-friendly industry in the world.
