Hyderabad state government-backed startup incubator T-Hub has launched an ‘AgriTech Accelerator Program’ in partnership with ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics). The three month programme is powered by RViP (Riverbridge Ventures Innovations Platform) and will begin on February 15, 2017.
During the three-month acceleration period, RViP, in association with ICRISAT and T-Hub, will engage with startups and help them to receive financial advice, marketing know-how and other functional expertise to enable growth and scale. The program is accepting applications from November 2, 2016.
Jay Krishnan, CEO, T-Hub stated, “The potential to innovate and scale innovation from startups is what we are trying to achieve through the AgriTech Accelerator. With AgriTech being a specialised vertical at T-Hub, we are sourcing the top startups globally to come up with solutions which will solve the myriad challenges faced by the sector. Through this sector and stage-focussed approach, we are banking on providing interventions to the top startups that get selected for the accelerator to allow them to scale and go-to-market with the right methodologies.”
The programme is designed to enable participating startups to scale their projects through real-time management, full-time engagement, and knowledge sharing. The selection process involves up to three levels of application screening including manual screening to curate the most relevant applications. The process will culminate with the top 10 participants being identified.
ICRISAT Director General Dr. David Bergvinson commented, “In order to double Indian farmers’ income by 2022, we need to accelerate the development and delivery of demand-driven innovation that gives economic agency to farmers. The AgriTech Accelerator program will bring together agriculture, IT, and finance entrepreneurs to develop tailored services, technologies, and market integration to support sustainable (social, economic, environmental) rural development at scale.”
T-Hub, which aims to aid and incubate budding entrepreneurs, in a private/public partnership deal in Hyderabad started in September 2015. Spread over 70,000 square feet, with seating capacity for 800 people it can house up to 150 startups. In May this year, T-Hub also launched its first healthtech accelerator programme. At that time, it had announced plans to launch other accelerators focussed on IoT, agritech, and B2B startups in the next one year.
Last month, T-Hub partnered with online cab hailing platform Uber and TiE Silicon Valley to launch T-Bridge – a programme to connect Indian startups with global market opportunities, and help bring global startups to India. Similarly, in April this year, it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with YES Bank to set up a centre of excellence for startups in the fintech space.
The AgriTech Accelerator Program is accepting applications from today onwards. Interested startups can register at: http://signup.t-hub.co/agritech
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