Zone Unveils ‘Gateway 91’ to Help International Startups Grow in India

Zone Startups, a joint venture between Ryerson Future, Toronto, and the BSE Institute, has launched, “Gateway 91”, a soft landing program to work with international startups and growth stage companies looking to access the Indian market.

Gateway 91 is the fourth new program announced by Zone Startups in 2016, including empoWer, Rise Accelerator with Barclays and Thought Factory Accelerator with Axis Bank that will offer end-to-end services for international technology companies looking to set up their first office in India.

Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains also used the platform to announce a partnership between the governments of Canada and Ontario to fund five Canadian financial technology startups to participate in the new program to help Canadian innovators seize the many opportunities provided by the Indian market.

“Through programs like Gateway 91, Zone Startups will continue to assist early stage enterprise software companies as they look to scale in the Indian market. Our extensive connections and programming continue to attract great founders developing innovative solutions. We’re proud to partner with both the Federal and Ontario governments to give Canadian FinTech startups the opportunity to benefit from our leading services to grow and thrive in India,” said Matt Saunders, President of Zone Startups.

Zone Startups India will help companies make the daunting transition to a new market by providing support including workspace within a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, local industry expert mentors, professional and administrative services for business establishment, corporate connections for customer development and; networking opportunities with potential investors

The first set of companies expected to be a part of Gateway 91 will be selected through a competitive program in Canada and will be announced in early 2017.

“Setting up Gateway 91 was a natural extension of what we have been doing at Zone Startups India,” said Ajay Ramasubramaniam, Director, Zone Startups India.

“The ecosystem of mentors, potential partners and professional service providers needed by international startups to succeed in India is something that we have already built. In fact, over the last year, we have supported 16 companies from different areas, helping them with introductions to several potential partners and clients. To a great extent, this also aligns with Government of India’s Invest in India and Make in India vision as these international technology companies will create knowledge economy job opportunities” he further added.