Over 800 Shortlisted for Nasscom’s 10,000 Startups in India By 2020

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has marked the second anniversary of its 10,000 Start-up Program to create 10,000 domain specific start-ups in the country by 2020. As the 10,000 start-up program keeps rolling to its fourth phase of shortlisting, Phase 3 had 500 startup shortlists who went through pitch and mentoring konnect sessions. Applications are currently being processed on FIFO basis till 22^nd April for the next session of Startup Konnect which is a mini boot-camp program for shortlisted startups who will be eligible for connect-2-pitch with all ecosystem partners including leading accelerators, angel investor networks and venture capital firms.

“Startups are the lifeblood of our economy,” said Rajat Tandon, Senior Director, NASSCOM 10,000 Startups, “We today have the support of 150 volunteer mentors, industry specialists, angel investors and VCs, as well as a startup alumni network like no other. We can proudly say that through its phases the 10,000 start-ups program has been able to carve out many success stories across domains. Now with the roll out of the fourth phase, we are looking to accelerate more startups who will re-define the technology landscape of the country."

Startups must apply for the program here and provide a detailed overview of their business idea and the market opportunity. Approximately 200 startups will be shortlisted for the 4^th Batch, handpicked by the ecosystem partners. Shortlisted startups will participate in the intensive accelerator pitch and mentoring connect sessions starting June 1^st week across Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad. They also get a Start-up Kit – a package worth $25,000 of value added services and credits from Google, Microsoft, AWS, Knowlarity, HackerRank, and Kotak.

We are impressed by 10,000 Startups' work to foster a vibrant ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in India. We are very excited for the fourth phase of 10,000 Startups Program that enables entrepreneurs to connect with investors and mentors to grow and expand.” added,Mary Grove, Director, Google for Entrepreneurs.

“Microsoft Ventures has been working with NASSCOM 10,000 startups to accelerate high potential startups and we are delighted to see the impact of our partnership. Many of the startups we have helped gain traction through our accelerator programs were previously incubated in the 10K Warehouse and the startups have benefitted from both programs immensely. We are positive that this partnership will continue to build a stronger ecosystem for startups in India and provide them promising future.” said, Ravi Narayan, Managing Director, Microsoft Ventures India.