Venture capital group Indian Angel Network (IAN) plans to invest in Bangalore-based tech start-ups.

IAN, which has funded nearly 35 differentiated scalable ideas from a variety of sectors, is currently focused on enhancing its presence in cloud-based projects in the Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) segments, according to a press statement.

IAN is also planning to invest in skill building and education start-ups.

According to the statement, India's National Skills Development Council (NDSC) is looking at technology-based solutions to skill over 500 million people over the next 10 years.

Raise funds

“The IAN members will evaluate start-up ideas of young entrepreneurs from Bangalore and other cities in the South in mid-May.

“Those with the most promising ideas will be able to raise funds from IAN,” Mr Saurabh Srivastava, co-founder, said in the statement. “They will be also able to access the strategic thinking of IAN members and global networks to grow their ventures,” he added.

“Our priority would be to create specific initiatives like the SaaS platform as a service-focus segment, and share experience around mentorship,” said Mr Som Mittal, President, Nasscom.

Tie-up with Nasscom

IAN is partnering with Nasscom Emerge-Product initiative to pool their expertise and resources to validate and mentor some of the ideas.

This initiative will bring two organisations founded on entrepreneurship to help develop the next generation start-ups in India, according to the statement.

Entrepreneurs will be short-listed based on their business plans submitted at the Indian Angel Network Web site.

The short-listed candidates will then present their plan to investors in an informal setting at Bangalore in the second-half of May, the statement said.

Related Topics