Flipkart selects 8 startups for its first-ever accelerator programme
Flipkart Leap, the startup accelerator programme of the ecommerce major, will provide mentorship and equity-free grant of $25,000 to the selected companies
Leap, the startup accelerator programme of India’s leading ecommerce marketplace Flipkart, has announced its first cohort of eight selected startups.
The eight finalists were selected from 920 applications across five categories and they will undergo a 16-week mentorship programme as well as receive equity-free grant of $25,000.
The selected startups are ANS Commerce, , Fashinza, Gully Network, , Solutions, , and Wolkus Technology ().
These startups selected came under the categories of Design & Make for India; Innovations in Digital Commerce; Technologies to Empower Retail; SCM & Logistics; and Enabling Deep Tech Applications.
Flipkart Leap was launched in August 2020 with the aim to help new and upcoming startups grow, scale, navigate challenges, and contribute to India’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The selected startups will undergo a mentorship programme conducted by a team of Flipkart leaders and various industry experts. According to the company, the mentorship programme has been crafted to provide knowledge of venture development and secure partnerships for the selected startups under two separate tracks.
The first track will include one-on-one business and technical mentorship, masterclasses, and networking sessions focused on venture development, through tools and best practices for building a scalable business in India, the second track will help the startups explore partnership opportunities with relevant business units at Flipkart.
Naren Ravula, VP, Product Strategy and Deployment at Flipkart said, “With Flipkart Leap, we aim to nurture promising startups and help them create compelling solutions for customers and bring value to the industry. The quality of the startups and the number of applications we received have been encouraging. We look forward to working with the eight startups, mentoring them and supporting them through industry exposure and strategic partnerships.”
Flipkart joins the list of other corporates who have been running their accelerator programmes to nurture and help grow startups in the country.
Besides these accelerator programmes, there are other bodies that have incubator initiatives which are almost similar to the birthing of startups.
Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta