Viridian ESpark Accelerator awards to 15 startups

AHMEDABAD: Viridian ESpark Accelerator, awarded 15 start-ups in Ahmedabad on Tuesday of which four were in the category of women entrepreneurship, three in social entrepreneurship, one in green technology and three in innovation & technology.

These entrepreneurs were selected through a business plan contest that was launched during Vibrant Gujarat 2015 and received more than 140 entries from across India. The award winning start-ups are from Ahmedabad, Rajkot, NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bikaner, Shimla and Seoni in Madhya Pradesh.

Twenty-Three (23) applicants from this contest have also been shortlisted to be a part of the Viridian Espark Accelerator program - to be launched from Ahmedabad in August 2015. The winning ideas are from diverse sectors such as education, healthcare, poultry, e-commerce and green technology. Selected candidates are also being considered for seed funding of around Rs 1 crore from Viridian Ventures.

Commenting on this initiative, Mr. Murali Hariharan, Global Head (Venture Strategy), Viridian Group said, “The aim of this business plan contest was to encourage grass-root level and women entrepreneurs who get little opportunity to showcase their innovative ideas.”

Viridian ESpark Accelerator, is a joint venture between - Entrepreneurial Spark of the UK and India’s Viridian Ventures. Their first accelerator centre has been recently established in Ahmedabad. Viridian ESpark plans to set up acceleration centers in key entrepreneurial hubs such as Ahmedabad, Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Cochin, Chennai, Chandigarh and Kolkata.