Startupbootcamp FinTech announced on Monday it has selected 10 startups to join its inaugural program in Mumbai. The group was selected from the Top 20 teams that made it to this round, after four months of scouting and nearly 300 applications from roadshows across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
According to Startupbootcamp FinTech, the 10 startups will receive access to financial corporates in India that will provide the finalists with access to pilot customers, industry data, APIs and integration support. Also, participants will be able to put together an advisory board through Startupbootcamp’s network of mentors and investors and founders of the startups will also be put through an entrepreneurial ‘mini MBA’ syllabus, with masterclasses on essential building blocks of business, understanding the customer and ‘becoming investable’.
Each of the teams will receive €15,000 and three months free office space in Lower Parel, at the startup hub ‘Garage’ by Jetlabs. After 12 weeks, each of the teams will present their companies to over 500 investors and industry experts at Demo Day, ready to raise capital and grow their businesses. Post this; the startups will continue to be supported by the Startupbootcamp Global alumni growth program, which supports over 400 startups worldwide. The startups selected to for 2017 Startupbootcamp FinTech Mumbai Program are:
- Doboz Solutions: A platform that digitizes the gifting experience to buy, share and exchange digital gift cards
- ExpoWealth: Access to direct mutual funds along with various analytical tools to help users make informed decisions and invest in few clicks
- GiftAssets: Online platform to gift mutual funds and ETFs
- GreenDeck: Cash flow monitoring for businesses to manage their income, expenses and transactional analytics
- RuPie: Alternative lending platform, which provides loans for personal and small business needs
- Bitgram: A unified intelligence platform for digital transactions enabled by blockchain technology
- ManageMyFortune: Robo advisory based curated marketplace for retail investors to find based on their past performance, client ratings or industry experience
- Propelld: Educational Finance Platform
- QuikkLoan: Credit scoring analytics based online loan marketplace, facilitating loans and other financial products
- Zilra: Innovative cross-border remittance service
Speaking about the program, Adrian Johnson, Managing Director, Startupbootcamp FinTech, stated:
“India is the fastest growing economy in the world today, and Startupbootcamp’s expansion into the country aims to build on this momentum. We specifically decided to venture into India with our Fintech accelerator because our global FinTech programs had been witnessing significant participation from Indian companies, with some of the most unique innovations intended to address the financial need-gap of the Indian economy. We are really excited about this years’ cohort. We will be focusing on giving them the foundation to enhance and scale their business models and make them market-ready at the end of three months, with the support of our rich network of mentors, partners and industry experts.”
Startupbootcamp Fintech also revealed the program received backing from influential players in the fintech industry, which includes ICICI Bank, ICICI Lombard, RBL Bank, AZB & Partners and PwC, as well as financial services industry experts from the Startupbootcamp global network. Mentor at Startupbootcamp, Abhay Hawaldar, who is also the Advisory Director at General Atlantic, added:
“Entrepreneurship is one of the loneliest professions in the world and entrepreneurs always feel the need for company of their own kind. Startupbootcamp has touched the lives of many such entrepreneurs globally, and brings with it the richest insights and industry information to benefit its expanding family of startups. The FinTech Mumbai Cohort brings together more such companies, that possess a distinct understanding of the challenge they aim to solve with technology and the ambition to make it happen. I look forward to interacting with each of the ten selected startups over the next few months, to familiarize them with the nuances of building a platform for financial services in the Indian FinTech ecosystem.”