Earlier this week, Indian e-commerce behemoth Flipkart secured $3.6 billion in the latest round of investment fundraising, ahead of an expected stock market debut sometime this year, boosting the firm’s net worth to $37.6 billion. The firm is also looking to expand operations and diversify its portfolio investment such as in grocery, fashion, and delivery service. Flipkart has also announced the launch of its flagship accelerator program, Flipkart Leap in August 2020, where the company is looking to work in conjunction and partner up with upcoming startups to grow, scale, and navigate challenges and in turn, contribute to the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Flipkart’s Demo Day
Shortlisted startups were to undergo a 16-week intensive mentorship and provided with an equity-free grant. Eight startups — ANS Commerce, Entropik Tech, Fashinza, Gully Network, Piggy, TagBox Solutions, UnboxRobotics Labs Private Limited, and Wolkus Technology (Fasal) — made it to the program. And on July 8, these startups pitched and showcased their solutions to 900+ attendees from across the globe including investors and industry leaders from 70+ organizations and varied talent from 280+businesses – making it one of the most successful Demo Days in India of recent memory. The Demo Day has now become a crucial opportunity to scale their offerings and attract potential investments.
One key thing of note from the eight lucky startups participating in the program is the diverse industry sectors in which those startups operate. They range from retail tech, robotics, as well as agrotech and fintech. As part of the program, the startups were given access to world-class technical and business mentorship, tools, technology, and business support services, as well as connect with relevant investors in the industry. Each startup was mapped with senior leaders from Flipkart based on the industry in order to fulfill gaps in the startups’ journey. In addition to this, Flipkart also partnered with Google and Microsoft to provide its cohort with cloud credits and relevant workshops that can boost their growth. For instance, the programme enabled Entropik, a five-year-old startup that has worked with 150+ enterprises across geographies, to figure out scalable use cases within the consumer internet industry and validate them with the right mentors and business stakeholders.
Technology and digital transformation have been the key themes throughout 2020 and 2021. If 2020 and 2021 are proof of anything it is that technology and digital transformation are reaching new heights and will only continue to expand. Tech innovation and nurturing disruptive ideas will continue to be leading factors in the new normal.
Being a homegrown, domestic platform, Flipkart – through its accelerator program, Flipkart Leap – is utilizing its broad reach and resources to nurture and boost the ideas that have the potential to revolutionize retail and technology space. Flipkart is already gearing up to invite applications for its second cohort of the program and will soon be revealing the new program structure and offerings.