Early stage fund, Axilor Ventures, bets on new opportunities around Fintech; signs up PayU India as the industry partner for its Accelerator Program. Axilor has recently announced doubling the intake for its Summer ’17 Accelerator Program. Fintech is one of the five focus areas for the cohort in the Summer ’17 batch. Together with PayU India, Axilor aims to improve the odds of success of FinTech startups and make them investible faster.

Ganapathy Venugopal, Cofounder and CEO of Axilor Ventures, said, “The recent changes have accelerated the adoption of digital services in both consumer and enterprise segments – financial services are one of the most underserved needs and will see rapid innovation. We are looking for Fintech startups that will drive this change.”

“For startups in the accelerator program, market access and industry connects work as catalysts for growth. We are extremely pleased to partner with the industry leader like PayU India to support the Fintech startups. This engagement will help FinTech startups with one-on-one focussed mentoring, market access and marketing support,”

Commenting on their association with Axilor Ventures, Jitendra Gupta, MD, PayU India said, “FinTech services are going to propel India in its strive towards digitalization and cashless economy. This space touches upon almost every consumer in India on a day to day basis. The socio-economic conditions of today further look upon young entrepreneurs and emerging startups to disrupt the status quo and unveil huge potential in the domain. At PayU India, we are glad to be associated with Axilor Ventures and provide access and guidance to these start ups in their formative years.”

Market opportunity in numbers:

• Digital payment market has crossed USD 20 billion
• Number of digital payment users have crossed 100 million
• According to the data from research firm VCCEdge, fintech firms have received an all-time high amount of $186 million by investors, until July 2016
• India’s growing smart phone user base (730 million by 2020) is expected to propel this growth and create new opportunities

How is the program relevant and who should apply?

What is in it for Fintech startups?

1. Great opportunity for entrepreneurs to scale their startups 3-5x and become investible quickly
2. Accelerate progress, sign up customers and get funded, quickly
3. Exclusive access to the Axilor and PayU network

Who should apply?

Fintech startups into lending, blockchain, next generation payments (APIs, B2B payments, micro-transactions), Robo-advisory, new age banking services, financial inclusion services and securities and biometrics.

How to apply?

Applications for the Summer ’17 accelerator program are currently open. To learn more and apply visit www.axilor.com. The applications close on 23 February, 2017 and the batch is scheduled to start in March ’17.

Source: Indian CEO