2024-10-21 12:41:33 :
Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah launched the PW Entrepreneurship Academy in September, while gaming unicorn Games24x7’s TechXpedite updated its second edition this month. PW Startup Academy and TechXpedite are accelerators, structured programs that support early-stage companies through education, mentorship and financing.
“PW, in turn, will benefit from understanding early trends in the market. When companies get bigger, they tend to lose some flexibility because you can’t be both big and small at the same time,” said Vijay Shukla, director of the PW Foundation (Vijay Shukla) said. Mint.
In addition to accelerators, companies are also trying to build more flexible internal incubator models. Kolkata-based FMCG company Emami has been developing incubators within its M&A team and unlike traditional deals, the incubator’s founding team The company continues to be managed with the support of Emami.
Harsha Vardhan Agarwal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Emami said, “As a strategic investor in the startup accelerator ecosystem, we focus on categories or industries with high growth potential, especially those with access to which we currently have no presence. Categories or industries that are evolving market segments ” Ltd.
In return, the company provides support in cost optimization, financial control, offline distribution, etc., while regularly injecting funds.
A September report by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore showed that India currently has more than 1,100 start-up incubators. The report does not include the rapidly growing number of accelerators, which has grown to about 900, according to Tracxn.
As Indian companies and later-stage VCs scale, they lose the ability to maintain a “move fast, break things” approach. Experts say they are now seeing the benefits of staying in close contact with young people and are eager to profit from it, leading to the launch of many such schemes. Mint.
Growing Startup Engagement Program
Indian companies have also partnered with government agencies, venture capital firms and existing startup accelerators to launch around half a dozen industry-specific projects in areas such as climate change, space technology and artificial intelligence in the last quarter.
Yotta Data Services and the National Association of Software and Services Companies’ accelerators for AI startups, Amazon Web Services India’s Space Accelerator, Transition VC and T-Hub’s Energy Transition Accelerator and Australia’s RISE accelerator for agritech startups have been in the past Launched four years ago months.
Vikram Gupta, founder and managing partner of early-stage venture capital firm IvyCap, said: “We have been working with corporates to drive engagement in their startups since 2015, and over the past three years , we’ve seen a significant uptick in their active participation in venture capital.
He added that insurance companies, banks, materials science companies, and technology companies are at the forefront of launching in-house startup engagement programs. The pursuit of entrepreneurial talent and the desire to build an internal pipeline of future leaders also drives companies to launch accelerators.
“As more entrepreneurial-minded senior leaders leave companies to start their own businesses, these accelerators provide a way to develop and retain this talent within companies,” Gupta said.
For venture capital firms, accelerators can help them build a pipeline of early-stage companies for future investments. Venture capital firm IPV launched IdeaSchool in January this year.
Ankur Mittal, chief operating officer and co-founder of IPV, said: “We have noticed that our focus has shifted from very early-stage deals to quite growth-stage deals, so through IdeaSchool we are intentionally looking for early-stage stage startups.”
Mittal said accelerators nurture early-stage startups for Series A and Series B funding, after which growth funds and private equity can step in. The IIM-B report also shows that incubated startups are 250% more likely to attract external funding.
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