NTT Com-Netmagic has announced the top three winners of its Start-up Challenge Finale 2019, which was held under the theme ‘Bringing Innovative Future’. The objective of this initiative is to support the startup ecosystem in India and help scale-up or leverage the businesses through an alliance with NTT. TiE Mumbai partnered in this pan India start-up challenge, powered by NTT Com-Netmagic, to enable this championship with the sourcing and evaluation of over 300 start-ups from various technology domains like IoT, big data, blockchain, AI, drone technology, security, etc.
The three winners were selected basis their idea, presentation and scalability. Loktra Fintech was awarded first place for its pioneering work in the field of lead management. Innovision, the creator of Braille Me, an affordable smart braille display was the first runner up. DronaHQ, a digital enablement platform was declared the second runner up. The winners were awarded US $15000, US $8000 and US $5000 respectively.
Sharad Sanghi, Managing Director and CEO, NTT Com-Netmagic, said, “The Startup Challenge powered by us empowers the start-up businesses to drive innovation across the technology spectrum. It was indeed a great experience exchanging ideas with the founders of some prominent technology ventures and understanding their vision for an innovative future. NTT Com-Netmagic aims to guide and mentor them in their journey towards success.”
The eminent jury panel included Kiran Bhagwanani, CEO – South Asia, Japan, New Zealand, Dimension Data Asia Pacific Pte Ltd; Sanjay Mehta, Principal, Mehta Ventures; Anoop Mathur, Founder and President, CORE Media (Centre of Recognition and Excellence); Rajesh Sehgal, Managing Partner, Equanimity Investments, Rajiv Vaishnav, Managing Partner, Cornerstone Venture Partners, and Harvinderjit Bhatia, Co-Founder & CEO, Radiowalla.
Some of the other prominent names from the startup ecosystem that were present at a panel discussion during the event were: Kaustubh Dhavse – Joint Secretary and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra); Shraddha Sharma, Founder and CEO, YourStory.com; Naveen Surya – Chairman, Fintech Convergence Council & Chairman Emeritus, Payments Council of India; Siddharth (Sid) Pai – Founder and Managing Partner, Siana Capital Management; and Sanjay Nath – Co-founder and Managing Partner, Blume ventures.