In order to empower the smart hardware solutions in the country, NASSCOM 10,000 Startup program announces TechMarch, an initiative to bring together the champions of connected devices revolution in India to their true potential. The one of its kind initiative will organize an eight city tour inviting applications from smart hardware startups in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Cochin, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Kolkata. TechMarch aims to provide mentorship, investment and partnership opportunities to the select startups.
Sharing his views, Mr. Rajat Tandon, Vice President, NASSCOM 10K Startups said, “Startups in Hardware space have started to disrupt the India’s ecosystem. This is also because of the PM’s Make in India program which gave them the much needed attention to further prosper. TechMarch is an effort to provide a strong support to the hardware innovators in the country and help them grow in an efficient and proficient way. With this initiative we aim to build a strong smart hardware space in India which can compete at a global level.”
Supported by NASSCOM COE/IOT, Techmarch is being backed by Kalaari Capital, Robert Bosch, Microsoft Accelerator, Buoyanci, Tata Elxsi and various hardware accelerators, communities and makerspaces of the country including Forge, Revvx, Makerasylum, IOTBangalore, Workbench projects, Echai, Innov8 ,Delhi startups and delhi angels etc . The program will select five winners in the smart hardware space to be chosen from over 300+ applications received so far. The winners will be selected by a National Selection Committee which includes Mr. Manjunath Hebbar(Nasscom Executive Council member and founder of Buoyanci), Mr. Manohar Sreenivas(Head, Startup Alliance, Bosch India, Sachin Pukale(Head, Tata communication), Mr. Avinash Kaushik(Revvx Accelerator), Mr. Vaibhav chabhra(Founder, Makerasylum), Mr. Pavan Kumar(Founder,WorkBench Projects), Mr. Nihal Kashinath(Founder IOTBangalore), Mr. Vishwanathan(Founder, Forge Accelerator) and Mr. Praveen Jhajhria(Operation head ,Tata Elxsi).
As a part of the program, startups will be provided with technical, marketing, and financial support, and leadership skills, to build their applications and businesses. They will also be connected to industry leaders (CEOs, thought leaders, VCs, ecosystem evangelists, social change leaders), funders to bring public attention to their commitment, solutions and impact such that they inspire many other hardware solution innovators to build innovative solutions for new-to-internet users. Further, the winning team will be get funding support from Kalaari capital.
TechMarch Roadshow begins from September 26 in Bengaluru followed by Hyderabad(28th Sep), Coimbatore(30th Sep), Cochin(1st Oct), Mumbai(3rd Oct), Ahmedebad(5th Oct), Delhi(8th Oct) and Kolkata(18thOct). The finale will be held on 26th October,2016 on the sidelines of National Product Conclave in Bengaluru.
