NASSCOM announces Startup-in-residence program, invites applicants

National Association of Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM) announced the launch of the second phase of their 10,000 Startups program to boost the entrepreneurial landscape in India. It is inviting applications from technology startups across the country for Funding, Acceleration, Mentoring and Enterprise connects (F.A.M.E).

The program has devised new focus areas to further scale up the existing start-up support communities and entrepreneurial capability in India: One, to focus on providing opportunities to convert ideas into prototypes and share preliminary industry feedback, the second to focus on functional areas like product development, go-to-market strategy, talent acquisition and industry connects.

Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM said: “The way India's economy has grown in recent times is phenomenal. And to sustain this growth, it is imperative to have more entrepreneurs in the country that will transform the landscape and propagate development. We are very pleased with the response that the 10,000 Startup program has received so far and are significantly enhancing the scope of the program in its second league. Adding value at various stages for technology startups in addition to the erstwhile proposition of funding and acceleration would be the primary focus of the program going forward. We are positive that this initiative will enable thousands of entrepreneur’s setup and grow their businesses and in the process further propel India’s economy.”The program is also launching a Startup-in-residence mentoring program where NASSCOM is collaborating with successful and entrepreneurial tech companies in consumer internet and software product space. Ravi Gururaj, Chairman – NASSCOM Product Council, says: “The 10,000 Start-ups program is building a robust platform for nurturing the next wave of high quality product startups. The industry is clearly bullish on product innovation and has been extremely responsive in engaging and supporting the many early stage promising product ventures in our program.”

Mukund Mohan, Director – Microsoft Ventures, adds: “There is a lot of support that startups need pre and post acceleration, with and without funding and it’s a welcome move by NASSCOM to expand the scope of the program beyond acceleration and funding. Microsoft eagerly looks forward to supporting the initiative in these new areas.”

This invitation procedure will be processed through the portal www.10000startups.com.