SAP Labs India launches startup accelerator program

The launch of SAP Startup Studio, an accelerator program that will provide mentoring, infrastructure, technology support to seven seed and early stage startup companies. With this, SAP Labs is establishing a dedicated program to drive entrepreneurship in India.

The first set of companies in the accelerator program include CloudKare, a cloud-computing based platform for healthcare; Blubirch, which offers end-to-end reverse logistics solutions; Niki.ai, a digital chat-based artificial intelligence provider; Sellerworx, an ecommerce technology solutions and services firm; Stratawiz Technologies, an enterprise productivity and engagement company; Moglix, an e-commerce company specializing in B2B procurement of industrial products and Ecolibrium Energy, a provider of energy management solutions.

SAP Startup Studio at SAP Labs campus in Whitefield, Bengaluru, will include a 75 seat incubator aimed at nurturing early/disruptive stage startups within the domains of Internet of Things, Big Data, Cloud, as well as verticals in retail and healthcare. Startups will be incubated for a period of one year, coupled with a strongly knit mentor ship program that extends beyond their first year.

Inaugurating SAP Startup Studio, Bernd Leukert, member of the Executive Board, Products & Innovation, SAP SE, said, “The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), estimates the number of new companies launched in India grew by 40 percent last year. India is now known as one of the most beneficial markets for startups. SAP Startup Studio will serve as a catalyst to further accelerate the growth of startups. This initiative perfectly fits into our philosophy of fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation for growth and development.”

SAP Startup Studio will provide companies having an idea or early prototype with guidance and support in building their business during the first year through access to SAP’s huge ecosystem of customers and partners. In addition, startups benefit from access to SAP knowledge, experts, venture capitalists, technology visionaries and academia. SAP and its partner experts will share and mentor the selected startups on emerging trends and technologies. If required, SAP will also take an equity position and reference to SAP’s Merger & Acquisition team for the next stage of growth.

“India is home to the fastest growing ecosystem of startups and one of the most fertile ground for new businesses. The aim of SAP Startup Studio is to support Indian startups with a complete ecosystem: guiding and mentoring them on technology and management and providing them with a work environment that also gives them access to SAP experts in their domains. This is an exciting addition to our SAP Labs campus in Bengaluru,” said Dilipkumar Khandelwal, Managing Director, SAP Labs India and Executive Vice President, Enterprise Cloud Services, SAP SE.