Four Mahindra group companies have joined hands to launch a programme to incubate start-ups, a move that would help in accelerating the pace of innovations in the country.
The companies — IT firms Mahindra Satyam and Tech Mahindra and mobile VAS providers CanvasM Technologies and Mahindra Comviva – would support start-ups in the information and communications technology (ICT) space.
“There are a lot of start-ups out there with a number of innovative and disruptive ideas. By collaborating with these companies, we would be able to create an ecosystem and speedup the process of innovations,” said Manish Mehta, Chief Solutions Officer (Verticals) and Global Head (Consulting and Enterprise Solutions) at Mahindra Satyam.
I5 STARTNET
The programme – i5 Startnet – would scout for innovative ideas in cloud, mobility and networking and other emerging technologies. The companies would also support start-ups that are into developing for verticals such as retail, consumer goods, infrastructure and construction among others.
If selected, i5 Startnet would provide financial support and access to markets and customers for these start-ups.
The companies have already initiated discussions with about 10 companies from Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai, and expect to announce at least a couple of collaborations within the next one month.
“We will decide on it depending on the products,” Mehta said, when asked about the timeframe for incubation.
Apart from start-ups, the companies would also look at supporting institutions and academicians who provide research and programmes that are of interest to the group.
$50-m FUND
The companies could dip into the $50-million technology focused venture capital fund, set up jointly with Mahindra Satyam and Tokyo-based financial service firm SBI Holdings (SoftBank Investment Group), to nurture the start-ups. In February last year, SBI Holdings entered into an agreement with Mahindra Satyam to set up the $50-million global fund, with equal commitments from the partners.
Further funds could be raised, depending on the projects or start-ups, internally, Mehta said, adding that “all channels are open”.
He, however, declined to provide a corpus the companies have earmarked for investing in start-ups.
Recently, Nasscom – the representative body of Indian IT industry - had also announced plans to incubate 25 start-ups that would be set up by young entrepreneurs across the country.