Indian startups can tap North America with this contest


Friday, July 8: Mumbai based Zone start ups along with the Government of Ontario, Canada has launched ‘The Next BIG Idea’ contest. This is an opportunity for tech startups from India, to tap into the North American market. The contest selects 5 hi-tech, hi-potential startups at an early stage, and provides them a gateway to […]


ajay-ramasubramaniamFriday, July 8: Mumbai based Zone start ups along with the Government of Ontario, Canada has launched ‘The Next BIG Idea’ contest. This is an opportunity for tech startups from India, to tap into the North American market. The contest selects 5 hi-tech, hi-potential startups at an early stage, and provides them a gateway to North America, by soft-landing them at DMZ, North America’s leading technology business incubator. The contest winners get access to local mentors, corporate connects and investor connects in Canada.

Ajay Ramasubramaniam, Director, Zone Startups says, “Corporates have a key role to play in helping startups leverage the market opportunity, and hence the contest has always partnered with an industry leader. This year the contest has become much bigger with Google, HDFC Bank and TCS coming on board as sponsor partners. Each partner brings tremendous value to the contest applicants, both, in India and globally.”

“The coming weeks will see Zone Startups India host roadshows across 11 Indian cities, to launch the contest pan-India. “This year we have already received over 700 registrations for attending the roadshows.”, added Ajay.

HDFC Bank is seeking to reach out to the startups across India, for its SmartUP Platform, and this contest will enhance the bank’s visibility within the startup ecosystem. Likewise, TCS is keen to engage with startups through their Co-Innovation Network platform, and the contest will help startups connect with TCS, and explore any joint go-to-market strategy. Google is a well known supporter and evangelist of the startup ecosystem in India. The contest will help Google to further reach out to startups across India.

Some of the past winners include CitrusPay, Vidooly, Konotor, ShieldSquare, Survelytics, Plackal to name a few. The past winners have cumulatively raised in excess of $60 Mn, which establishes the contest’s ability to identify winners, early on.

The contest is an application-based process, where entries are evaluated on the basis of clarity of concept, innovativeness of the idea, development feasibility and the marketability of the product. The 5 winners get an all expenses paid, 2 weeks bespoke programing tailored to their needs for exploring the North American market.

Image Courtesy: Businesstoday

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