The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has launched an initiative Iot.IN, to bring together startup entrepreneurs so that they can realize their true potential and evolve Internet of Things (IoT)-based ecosystem in the country.
Iot.IN will invite nominations from IoT startups based in Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, and Mumbai. It will provide mentorship, investment and partnership opportunities to the select startups. The focus of this initiative is to encourage young aspiring entrepreneurs to create innovative and disruptive solutions around the IoT, which will eventually align the government’s ‘Smart India’ initiative with the vision of Digital India.
IAMAI has teamed up with Mobile10X and Napino Auto & Electronics Limited for the venture. In the past two years, Napino has invested Rs 30 crore in technology companies at different stages of business cycles. In the next two years, it will invest Rs 60 crore and focus on next-generation tech companies in IoT, Blockchain, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence.
Jitender Minhas, Chief Executive Officer of IAMAI Startup Foundation’s Mobile 10X programme, said, “The Mobile10X programme has been striving relentlessly to provide a robust support system for app developers and young startups. I believe this joint effort will be a perfect complement and give a fillip to nurture dynamic startups. With many more such initiatives, we will see great products emerging from such programmes.”
Vaibhav Raheja, Director of Napino Auto & Electronics Limited, said, “We want to be at the forefront of innovation and have been continuously supporting entrepreneurs by providing business expertise, engineering and manufacturing support and industry connects. Napino is pleased to collaborate with Mobile10X to mentor entrepreneurs and be part of their success through this incubation programme.”
Raheja further said despite a high rating on innovation and entrepreneurship, India attracts a meager share of VC funding in the world because of gaps in skills, scaling and business development models that entrepreneurs follow. The amount to be invested, for developing entrepreneurship businesses was estimated at Rs. 30 crores in 2016. “We plan to pump in double the amount in 2017 to upscale the ecosystem for IoT-based startup ecosystem in India,” he added.
As a part of the program, start-ups will be provided technical, marketing and leadership skills along with financial support to build applications and businesses. They will also network with industry leaders, thought leaders, VCs, ecosystem evangelists, and funders.
