Boost for NASSCOM’s 10,000-startup initiative
In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, India and Israel have jointly launched ‘scalerator’, for nurturing their start-ups estimated to be worth US$25 billion by 2025.
Accenture (NYSE: ACN), the Consulate General of Israel to South India, and the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) are in the exclusive program that aims to enhance the collaboration between Israeli and Indian startups to create innovative solutions for global markets.
With support from Accenture Ventures’ Open Innovation initiative, scalerator will identify growth-stage Israeli startups with deep expertise in emerging technologies – particularly cybersecurity, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, automation, the Internet of Things, blockchain and extended reality – and connect them with India’s startup community through NASSCOM’s 10,000 Startups initiative.
Commenting on the launch of scalerator, Rekha M. Menon, chairman and senior managing director, Accenture India said, “Collaboration is key to success in the digital economy. Enhancing the relationship between India and Israel is an opportunity to bring disruptive, advanced technology innovations to the world. The innovation ecosystems in both countries share common talent and technology traits and we are proud of our role in bringing them together.”
Dana Kursh, Consul General of Israel to South India, said, “We see the scalerator program as vital to further developing India-Israel collaboration. The industry environment in Bengaluru – the Silicon Valley of India – and in so many other places in India, is the perfect match to the Israeli technology sector. Through this collaboration with Accenture and NASSCOM, we can further connect our two ecosystems and enable Indian and Israeli startups to develop cutting-edge technological solutions that benefit all.”
Accenture Ventures will provide guidance to scalerator participants, leveraging its open innovation expertise and global reach to help startups build and bring to market innovative solutions that help address business challenges of Accenture’s Indian and global clients.
Avnish Sabharwal, managing director, Accenture Ventures India, said, “Building a rich open innovation ecosystem is critical for meeting the strategic business objectives of our Global 2000 clients and we are delighted to debut the scalerator as our latest milestone. We are excited about the prospects that the scalerator can create in India and Israel among startups, enterprises, research and academic institutions and investors.”
The Consulate General of Israel to South India will work with Accenture Ventures to oversee the process of selecting startups for the program. The Consulate will also provide business development support to the selected startups from Israel and facilitate an understanding of the available local funding channels.
Dr. Shai Moses, Consul for Economic and Trade Affairs, the Consulate General of Israel to South India, added, “India and Israel share an appetite for new technology, and we’re glad to collaborate with Accenture and NASSCOM to support disruptive Israeli startups with knowledge sharing, access to India’s strong domestic market and the opportunity to collaborate with India’s technology industry.”
Startups in the scalerator program will be hosted at the NASSCOM Startup Warehouse in Bengaluru, as part of NASSCOM’s 10,000 Startups initiative. NASSCOM will provide mentorship opportunities for participants and involve them in market access forums including industry events and customer engagements.
KS Viswanathan, vice president, Industry Initiative, NASSCOM, said, “Collaboration between the two countries, ranging from socio-cultural exchanges to economic partnership, has nurtured Indo-Israeli ties over several decades. India’s large and growing market, characterized by entrepreneurial zeal, is evenly matched by Israel’s technological prowess.
“By streamlining intellectual and economic exchange, as well as forging new alliances that foster innovation and entrepreneurship, the scalerator will deepen these ties.
“NASSCOM’s start-up program reflects this vision to consolidate and streamline efforts in building state-of-the-art infrastructure, coupled with top industry level mentorship programs, funding and industry partnerships, to amplify the impact that emerging disruptive companies can indigenously create for the entire global ecosystem,” Viswanathan said.
The launch of the scalerator program follows an extensive study of Israel’s startup ecosystem undertaken by Accenture Ventures, outlined in the report, Collaborative Innovation: The vehicle driving Indo-Israel prosperity, published in collaboration with NASSCOM.
The report highlights the opportunities and imperatives for the two countries to transcend from the orbit of cooperation to collaboration. It also outlines “Vision 25/25”, which estimates that a cumulative cross-border investment of US$25 billion into Indian and Israeli start-ups by 2025 can create 25 world-class products across different sectors, unleashing a revenue potential of up-to US$25 billion from these products by 2025. fii-news.com
