As part of the 10,000 Start-ups initiative to scale up the startup ecosystem in India, the National Association of Software & Services (NASSCOM) today inaugurated its first Start-up Warehouse in Bangalore’s Diamond District.
Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM, KK Natarajan, Chairman, NASSCOM, Ravi Gururaj, Chairman, Product Council, NASSCOM and I.S.N. Prasad, Principal Secretary to Government, Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka were present at the event on Tuesday.
While talking about the facility, I.S.N. Prasad, said, “Karnataka is the country’s leading hub of technology innovation and it is imperative to continue steering its growth and foster entrepreneurial culture in the state by various policy initiatives. This collaboration with NASSCOM to provide world class infrastructure to startups will phenomenally spur the growth of the technology startup companies operating in the region. The facility will foster innoivation under one roof, where start-ups can share knowledge and make the most of a vibrant mini-ecosystem.”
The Startup Warehouse has been introduced to create a micro-ecosystem where early stage startup founders can work together, share their learnings and best practices with each other. NASSCOM has already received about 2000 Expression of Interests for the warehouse as it was part of the 10,000 Start-ups application process. Further, the selection would be finalized by a selection committee comprising of stakeholders from the government as well as the industry.
Highlighting the facets of the 10,000 Start-ups program and the warehouse, KK Natarajan, said,“Within the first 150 days of its inception, the 10,000 startup program has received an overwhelming response and achieved numerous milestones in this short journey. The launch of the warehouse facility for startup companies in Karnataka is yet another milestone to create, sustain and boost the entrepreneurship culture within the state. We congratulate Govt of Karnataka for their proactive support to the cause of building a robust startup ecosystem in the state and stimulate the technology innovation rate in Karnataka.”
NASSCOM also plans other such facilities across key cities in the country, to provide world class infrastructure to tech startups at a highly affordable cost. The model for a startups warehouse is to identify a central, well connected, plug-and-play working space and offer it to Start-ups for the first 6 months of their operations. The start-up warehouse would also be visited frequently 10,000 Start-ups mentor and investor network who would provide one-on-one mentorship to the Startups based at the warehouse.
NASSCOM announced the initiative in April to incubate, support and help fund 10,000 technology startups in the next 10 years across India. As part of the initiative, NASSCOM is providing early stage support for start-ups by enhancing incubation programs, building a strong mentor community and providing access to investors & increasing risk capital.