The business incubation arm of Mumbai-based Amplifi SaaS Accelerator has tied up with Paperclip Startup Campus – a Hong kong based co-working space. The partnership further aims at expanding Amplifi’s presence in Hong Kong.
The expansion will be supported by InvestHK and Cyberport which has also assigned a workspace (Smart-Space @Cyberport) for the startups to use free during the course of the program.
Paperclip uniquely combines innovation programs with serviced offices and co-work space. Its mission is to help improve the quality of early stage entrepreneurs. The academy focuses on the lean startup methodologies and business model canvas tools, designed to validate new ideas quickly. The beautifully designed, 8000 square feet combined spaces are located in Sheung Wan, the ‘new Central’ for Startups.
Cyberport, on the other hand, is a creative digital cluster with over 700 community members. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited which is wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government.
“Hong Kong, being a fintech hub of Asia and home to several global giants seemed like the most natural progression for us. With this tie-up we will be able to help Hong Kong startups access India and Indian startups access Hong Kong – Greater China ; thereby helping startups in the two largest economies in Asia,” said Sudarshan Narayan, Founder, and Managing Director at Amplifi.
Deepak Madnani, founder of Paperclip Startup Campus reiterated further, “The partnership with Paperclip Startup Campus was a logical fit, and geographically, running a cohort in Hong Kong provides tremendous opportunities to leading global corporates and allows for access to a high-quality mentor base that is only possible in world class cities like Hong Kong.”
Pitching sessions for India cohorts have already started while applications for Hong Kong cohort have just been opened. Applications will close on Aug 10th, 2016 in India and 31st, 2016 in Hong Kong.
Amplifi SaaS Accelerator was launched in October 2015 by Sudarshan Narayan, Ravi Veeraghanta, Rohinton Bharucha, Amitava Neogi, and Uday Deshpande. It aims to provide the most holistic ecosystem for B2B SaaS startups in Asia. It is 3 months long program for the shortlisted startup founders and supports selected startups with infrastructure, mentors, shared resources, access to potential customers, angels and VCs plus credits from partners & service providers.
It recently completed its inaugural cohort based out of Bangalore, India, and the startups are currently in discussion with investors, trying to close their rounds. Apart from Bangalore, the program is available in six locations – Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, and Kolkata.
The Asian startup ecosystem has really taken off and come into its own in the past few years. The startup and funding numbers are mushrooming exponentially – making it more of a revolution than just a passing trend. But while the potential is huge the need of the hour is to create ecosystems that help this revolution to translate into meaningful growth for the upcoming startups in Asia. Accelerators and incubators play a vital role in enabling this and the last couple of years has seen an equally rapid growth in the number of accelerators.
Update: “Amplify founders are now only Sudarshan, Rohinton and Amitava. Ravi and Uday had to step out due to non-compete issue.”
