Commonwealth Startup Fellowship: 3 Indian startups selected among world's most promising ventures

Three Indian companies working in the field of agriculture, construction and healthcare have been selected among the world's most promising startups to showcase their high-potential ventures to investors and industry leaders in London this week.

AgrowSure Products and Innovations, founded by Akshay Kawale; Hexpressions, co-founded by Abhimanyu Singh and Shilpi Dua; and Life and Limb, founded by Nishant Agarwal, are among 19 startups selected for the inaugural Commonwealth Startup Fellowship from more than 1,400 companies across 44 eligible countries and territories.

The flagship Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) programme is funded by the UK government and delivered in partnership with Imperial College London to support innovative ideas that have the potential to accelerate job creation and enhance entrepreneurial leadership.

"These impressive startups have proved that they are among the most promising in the world with huge potential to make a real impact in their regions and beyond," said Sarah Ranchev-Hale, Head of Imperial Enterprise Lab, a delivery partner of the new programme.

"In its very first year, this Startup Fellowship is already helping to unlock talent, drive growth, and transform communities. Imperial is proud to work with these exceptional founders and support their journey to scale innovations that address some of the world’s most pressing challenges," she said.

The chosen startups, all from low and middle-income Commonwealth countries, will use new funding from investors and support from the programme to rapidly scale and develop their ventures.

Professor Kevin Ibeh, Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner, said, "These inaugural startups' many real-world innovations and entrepreneurial feats, and the growing number of jobs they are already creating, bode well for the future of communities and economies across the Commonwealth.

The six-month Commonwealth programme involves a range of in-person and online activities to provide the chosen startups with hands-on training and bespoke tailored support to elevate their businesses. It kicked off with a two-week bootcamp in Accra, Ghana, which was followed by five months of online facilitation featuring expert-led sessions, mentoring and business coaching.

In addition to the intensive training and mentorship, the startup teams had access to financial support from the Fellows Fund -- a 35,000-pound pot of equity-free grants funded by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) designed to help cover business costs, stimulate growth, and enhance job creation.