JERUSALEM – MassChallenge Israel, with the Deshpande Foundation and NASSCOM, announces the creation of an up to $50,000 scholarship fund to support up to 10 Indian startups qualified for MassChallenge Israel’s 2019 accelerator cycle. The partnership was first launched in 2017 and coincided with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to India, where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The selected Indian startups will join the other 2019 MassChallenge Israel finalists for a four-month equity-free accelerator program in Jerusalem where they will get access to:
- Up to 500,000 NIS in cash prizes
- The opportunity to join an all-inclusive, curated international business trip, that gives participating startups unparalleled access to and exposure in two U.S. markets
- Four months of free office space in Jerusalem
- Introductions to top corporate partners and investors
- Personalized mentorship from more than 150 industry experts from the Startup Nation
“MassChallenge Israel is excited to offer a platform to connect India’s highest impact innovators to the best of the Start Up Nation. Since 2017, MassChallenge Israel has accelerated 13 Indian companies, including 4 startups that were MassChallenge program winners. These companies continue working with mentors, investors and substantial institutions in the Israeli ecosystem long after the program has ended and we are thrilled to have a part in building the bridges between our two economies.” said Yonit Serkin, Managing Director of MassChallenge Israel. “We look forward to welcoming startups from India and thank both NASSCOM and the Deshpande Foundation for supporting qualifying Indian companies as they join the MassChallenge community.”
“MassChallenge’s no strings attached accelerator model has been proven across geographies and cultures by successfully accelerating hundreds of startups. Leveraging Israel’s rich heritage of innovation and entrepreneurship, MassChallenge Israel has offered this valuable and diverse experience to an international cohort of startups.” said Deshpande Foundation founder Desh Deshpande. “The Deshpande Foundation is thrilled to extend this opportunity to high impact teams from India and to further strengthen the partnership between the two countries.”
“NASSCOM is proud to be associated with MassChallenge Israel and work towards further stimulating the growth of the startup ecosystem of the country. The start-up landscape in the country is becoming the epitome of innovation, with companies bringing out solutions that are aimed at solving locally relevant issues. The start-up ecosystem is playing a critical role in the country’s digital transformation and development in jobs, and offering technological solutions to all kinds of problems, thereby improving the lives of people. Such an initiative will give startups the right exposure and set them on the appropriate path to flourish in the industry.” said Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM.
Startups can apply to MassChallenge Israel 2019 cohort at https://masschallenge.org/apply by February 5, 2019
About the Deshpande Foundation
The Deshpande Foundation, founded by global business leader and philanthropist Dr. Gururaj Desh Deshpande and Mrs. Jaishree Deshpande, has operations in India, Canada and the USA. The Foundation is focusing its efforts in India on building an ecosystem to nurture Innovative Social Entrepreneurs. The Foundations efforts surround around the unique Social Innovation Sandbox in Hubli, Karnataka, India to create an ecosystem similar to Silicon Valley with focused on Social Entrepreneurship.
About NASSCOM
NASSCOM is the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT-BPM industries in India. NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 2100 members, which include both Indian and multinational companies that have a presence in India. NASSCOM’s member and associate member companies are broadly in the business of software development, software services, software products, consulting services, BPO services, e-commerce & web services, engineering services and animation and gaming. NASSCOM’s membership base constitutes over 95% of the industry revenues in India and employs over 3.5 million professionals.
About MassChallenge
MassChallenge is a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators. Headquartered in the United States with locations in Boston, Israel, Mexico, Switzerland, Texas, and the UK, MassChallenge is committed to strengthening the global innovation ecosystem by supporting high-potential startups across all industries, from anywhere in the world. To date, more than 1,500 MassChallenge alumni have raised more than $3 billion in funding, generated over $2 billion in revenue, and created over 80,000 total jobs. Learn more about MassChallenge at masschallenge.org.