IBM Accelerates Startup Growth; Announces ‘Smart Camp Kickstart’

The KickStart events are a new component to the SmartCamp program this year. These events are day-long versions of the full SmartCamps that focus on a particular topic or industry. The winner from the Bangalore KickStart event will have the chance to participate in the Asia SmartCamp and the winner there will participate in the IBM SmartCamp global finals.

“SmartCamp 2012 is a program designed to leverage top tier mentor networks in support of building strong city communities, which are globally connected to help build a Smarter Planet.” said Karthik Padmanabhan, Country Manager - ISV & Developer Relations, IBM Software - India/ SA.

At SmartCamp 2011, ConnectM – a Bangalore headquartered company, specializing in “Energy Efficient Telecommunication” were declared winners. By winning their local SmartCamp competition, they earned a spot in the finals to go head-to-head with the best in the world at the IBM Global SmartCamp Finals. IBM Global Entrepreneur and IBM SmartCamp is an international program to support and promote early stage technology entrepreneurs. SmartCamp is about building communities and is run in partnership with partners from the investment, education and entrepreneur sectors. IBM offers selected companies a 3-month mentorship program and opportunity to engage with top tier investors and accelerators.

In 2012, there are 13 IBM SmartCamp KickStart events including, Miami, New York City, Munich, Bangalore, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Moscow, Paris, Istanbul, London, Cape Town, Mexico City and Dublin. Winning companies from these events will have the opportunity to participate in one of the four regional SmartCamp events in Boston, Beijing, Berlin and Sao Paolo. The winners of the SmartCamp events will further move on to participate in the 2012 Global Finals.

To participate in IBM Global Entrepreneur, aspiring startups are invited to apply to SmartCamp Bangalore