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The Land Accelerator South Asia 2021

The Land Accelerator is a four-month curated program focused on training and supporting entrepreneurs working to restore land, forests, and farms by planting trees, introducing innovative technologies, and boosting crop yields. 

The initiative builds networks and offers entrepreneurs time to enhance their pitching and storytelling skills so they can connect with equity and debt funders who can help them get to the next level. Participants can explore new ways to maximize their business models via expert mentorship to compete and grow their revenue, customer base, and environmental impact (1). 

Program Details

Eligibility Criteria

• The company needs to be registered in the following South Asian nations: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Afghanistan.
• The company needs to be incorporated according to the respective country’s guidelines.
• It should have a working prototype or service model with users on the ground.
• The startup should be at or post validation stage. 

Relevant Stakeholder

• Individual
• Scaling Stage Startup
• Ideation State Startup
• Validation Stage Startup
• Early Traction Startup

Relevant Industry 

• Advertising
• Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
• Agriculture
• AI
• Airport Operations
• Analytics
• Animation
• AR VR (Augmented + Virtual Reality)
• Architecture Interior Design
• Art & Photography
• Automotive
• Biotechnology
• Chemicals
• Computer Vision
• Construction
• Dating Matrimonial
• Design
• Education
• Enterprise Software
• Events
• Fashion
• Finance Technology
• Food & Beverages
• Green Technology
• Healthcare & Lifesciences
• House-Hold Services
• Human Resources
• Indic Language Startups
• Internet Of Things (IoT)
• IT Services
• Logistics
• Marketing
• Media & Entertainment
• Nanotechnology
• Non- Renewable Energy
• Other Specialty Retailers
• Others
• Passenger Experience
• Pets & Animals
• Professional & Commercial Services
• Real Estate
• Renewable Energy
• Retail
• Robotics
• Safety
• Security Solutions
• Social Impact 
• Social Network
• Sports
• Technology Hardware
• Telecommunication & Networking
• Textiles & Apparel
• Toys And Games
• Transportation & Storage
• Travel & Tourism
• Waste Management

Relevant Service

• Consulting
• Consumer Internet
• Discovery
• E-Commerce
• Engineering
• Enterprise Mobility
• Government
• Hyperlocal
• Location-Based Services
• Manufacturing
• Marketplace
• Mobile
• Offline
• Online Aggregator
• Others
• Peer To Peer
• Platform
• Rental
• Research
• SaaS
• Sharing Economy
• Social Enterprise
• Subscription Commerce

Incentives

• Participants will receive a grant of 3,000 EUR (about 2.6 lakh INR) after successful program completion
•  Free accommodation and travel in New Delhi during a 6-days in-person workshop
• Customized curriculum about land restoration
• Focused nurturing for women entrepreneurs
• Peer learning
• Mentorship to help participants scale
• Demo Day for pitching business to investors

Registration Cost

There are no registration costs. The program offers free participants.

Post Submission Procedure

Shortlisted participants interview calls – May 2021

Cohort announcement – 15 June 2021

Things to Know

Any company with customers purchasing their products or services can participate in the program. It is regardless of whether you are financed, non-profit, or a community-led organization. 

The Land Accelerator focuses on scaling startups that restore lands. Hence, it seeks firms past the ideation stage but yet to see gains from the activities. The program encourages startups to apply for it, especially when offering something unique, regardless of your company size.

The program will judge a company based on five primary criteria:

• Scalability
• Profitability
• Replicability
• Social impact
• Environmental impact

Additionally, the committee would also take a company’s uniqueness, current traction, and team quality into account. 

The program is considering the application of companies that support land restoration in several ways. Here are some business models recognized for restoring land:

• IoT smart agriculture soil monitoring
• Agro-forestry, silvopasture
• Smart irrigation, water conservation
• Organic land amendments
• Non-timber forest production
• Tree planting, plantations
• Sustainably produced forest products
• Tree planting of native species or interspersing commercial trees and native trees
• Interplanting
• Urban forestry
• Beekeeping
• Organic farming
• Startups offering financial solutions to those practicing sustainable farming systems

Click here to apply.

Comviva Inno NXT Tech Challenges

Comviva is a universal leader in mobility solutions. It caters to ‘The Business of Tomorrow,’ a Tech Mahindra subsidiary and an arm of the 21 billion USD Mahindra group.

The Comviva InnoNXT Challenge, in collaboration with Startup India, has invited startups across the country to join and take on the challenges in the profoundly rising space of digital, 5G, fintech, and AI/ML.

All these sectors have witnessed immense demand, interest, and growth in the past few years. And Comviva, the forefront of emerging technologies, has invited new-gen startups to tag along and shape the future.  

Eligibility Criteria

• Startups need to be defined and recognized by DPIIT, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
• Startups with valid MVP/POC, with pilot customers.

It is mandatory to take the challenge in line with the problem statements mentioned in the program.

Timeline

• Last date for application submission: 26 April 2021
• Announcement of top ten shortlisted startups: 3 May 2021
• Demo of the shortlisted companies: 12, 13, and 14 May 2021
• Winner declaration and starting with the cohort: 25 May 2021

Fiscal Incentives

• Winner: 725K INR cash grant
• 1st Runner Up: 360k INR cash grant
• 2nd Runner Up: 180k INR cash grant

Winners will also get a host of non-financial incentives such as access to productivity tools, mentorship, market access, and more.

Problem Statement

Gamification Challenge 

Comviva is looking to build a gamified experience for its gamut of digital services and offerings. It aims to add plug-and-play gamification modules to the Digital Experience and Management and Loyalty Management product lines.

It should increase user engagement, user awareness, and user acquisition by offering them a sense of competitiveness, accomplishment, and gratification. 

Personal Finance Manager

With several accounts, cards, and wallet choices today, customers wish to manage all their finances in one platform seamlessly. The company is looking to build an easy, intuitive, and white-labeled solution for customers to monitor, optimize, and control their finances. 

It should also integrate easily with its other fintech products such as digital banking or wallet platforms. Even though personal finance management as a market is quite mature today, the company seeks innovative ideas from startups to achieve the same. 

Conversational AI Platforms

Today’s tech-savvy consumers are looking to solve all their issues and want answers to all their questions at a click of a button. How can we make it possible for each customer and every different app or platform today? How about a virtual assistant that leverages NLP to understand the consumer need and offers a quick and intelligent solution for the same. 

Yes, the company is looking for a white-labeled conversational AI solution to use across all its products to offer its customers a fast, effortless, and convenient experience for any query.

Consumer Engagement via Vernacular Voice Bots

With the surge in digital products and internet penetrations, brands have started experimenting with the latest interfaces for customer engagement. 

Moreover, the pandemic has also challenged the brick and mortar business model, leading to brands adopting digital tech beyond the tried and tested email and chatbot mediums to reach out and offer services to their customers. 

The company is looking for a digital experience that caters to all age groups and services and their changing paradigms. 

Rich Media Content Categorization in 5G

As 5G networking is evolving, it facilitates images, videos, and other documents delivery as RCS messages to smartphones. The previous network has lots of SMS fraudulent activities, which are adhered to with the messaging firewall’s assistance that processes both signal level and content level filtering. 

Similarly, for fraud prevention in 5G, there is a need for a messaging firewall that filters images, videos, and other documents as RCS messages and categorizes them under several classes. The firewall platform’s policies would use these categories to filter out RCS messages. 

Unified Subscription Solutions

With the surging numbers of digital services, subscription and users’ digital footprints, managing their billing, renewals, etc., has become cumbersome. 

Several digital services such as fintech, travel insurance, e-learning, e-healthy need seamless integration and management in real-time. 

Comviva is also seeking an end-to-end platform where a single interface can offer all these services right from promotion to billing. 

Digital Advertisement Platform

Comviva is looking to build a Programmatic Advertisement platform with all the components such as ad-exchange, SSP, and Ad-serve to serve its purpose independently. 

It needs to follow all the OpenRTB, GDPR, and other specifications to integrate with ad platforms Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Their primary goal is precise targeting with a minimum ad budget.

Click here to apply. 

Altair Startup Challenges 2021 – for EVs

Altair has collaborated with Startup India to offer a platform via a structured challenge for Indian electric vehicle startups to accelerate and innovate with the accelerated product development and simulation-driven design. 

The initiative is also looking to create awareness of appropriate cutting-edge technologies, relevant processes and enable startups to accomplish their product development goals in a structured manner. It facilitates competency building and competitive product development.

Eligibility Criteria

An EV startup company needs to be recognized by Startup India, registered MSME, or from a government-recognized incubator, a registered entity involved in machine learning, design and development, data analytics solutions, digital twin, and its validation of products, components, solutions, and systems. 

Relevant Stakeholder

• Accelerator
• Incubator
• Ideation stage startup
• Validation stage startup
• Early traction startup
• Scaling stage startup

Relevant Industry

• Analytics
• AR VR
• Automotive
• AI
• Enterprise Software
• IoT
• IT Services

Themes for Challenges

• Simulation Driven Design – Accelerating Product development
• Model-based Embedded Development
• Digital transformation leveraging AI, IoT, and ML

Problem Statement

EV Startups Offering:

Electric mobility solutions like products, services, solutions, systems, battery pack, motors, controller, digital platform, and charging infrastructure (No Traders)

Incentives

Winner: 2.5 lakh INR

1st Runner Up: 1.5 lakh INR

2nd Runner Up: 1 lakh INR

Shortlisted startups will get successful mentoring and information about appropriate technology options and accelerated product development solutions. They will also get access to relevant Altair tools and technologies. Additionally, startups will get the opportunity to interact with Altair partners, customers, helping them to reach out to the market efficiently.

Post Submission Procedure

Here is what the shortlisted participants would receive:

• Understanding challenges and offers a process for exploring the options
• Introducing simulation-driven design early in the product development cycle
• Enabling accelerated product development
• Mentor and handhold the startups to address vital design and development challenges
• Connection to potential funding agencies and prospects
• Advice for IP production and product positioning

Click here to apply. 

HUL Grand Water Saving Challenges

In support of the PM’s SBM, Swachh Bharat Mission, and the UN SDGs, HUL, Hindustan Unilever Ltd., in association with Invest India, AGNI, Startup India is launching the Grand Water Saving Challenges.

The challenge, run by TBC, Toilet Board Coalition, aims to address the requirement for an efficient flush system in public toilets to ensure optimum water usage while ensuring a clean and hygienic lavatory. The Healthy Cities and Communities initiative by the World Economic Forum catalyzed the Innovation Challenge. It aims to improve people’s well-being holistically by enabling them to live fuller and longer lives in their local environments. 

The Grand Water Saving Challenges is inviting inventors, technologists, and startups working in water and sanitation to participate. Winners of the challenge would receive a 5 lakh INR cash price and an opportunity to install and test the invention at an HUL-developed Suvidha center. 

Eligibility Criteria

• The challenge is open to companies registered with DPIIT.
• Academic institutions, may not be registered as above can also participate
• Employees of the company, its distributors, affiliates, appointed agency holding the challenge, their families, and immediate relatives are unacceptable for participation in the program
• It is valid for Indian nationals residing within the country and are 18 or above and are not legally ineligible. 

Relevant Stakeholder

• Incubator
• Individual
• Ideation Stage Startup
• Validation Stage Startup
• Early Traction Startup
• Scaling Stage Startup

Relevant Industry

• Advertising
• Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
• Agriculture
• AI
• Airport Operations
• Analytics
• Animation
• AR VR (Augmented + Virtual Reality)
• Architecture Interior Design
• Art & Photography
• Automotive
• Biotechnology
• Chemicals
• Computer Vision
• Construction
• Dating Matrimonial
• Design
• Education
• Enterprise Software
• Events
• Fashion
• Finance Technology
• Food & Beverages
• Green Technology
• Healthcare & Lifesciences
• House-Hold Services
• Human Resources
• Indic Language Startups
• Internet Of Things
• IT Services
• Logistics
• Marketing
• Media & Entertainment
• Nanotechnology
• Non- Renewable Energy
• Other Specialty Retailers
• Others
• Passenger Experience
• Pets & Animals
• Professional & Commercial Services
• Real Estate
• Renewable Energy
• Retail
• Robotics
• Safety
• Security Solutions
• Social Impact
• Social Network
• Sports
• Technology Hardware
• Telecommunication & Networking
• Textiles & Apparel
• Toys And Games
• Transportation & Storage
• Travel & Tourism
• Waste Management

Challenge Theme

• Water 
• Social Impact
• Sanitation

Problem Statement

An innovating water-saving flush system for squat latrines to ensure hygienic and clean toilets for all

Public and community toilets are among the most challenging shared spaces for hygiene, cleanliness, operations, and maintenance. Water supply to these is often limited, and the wastewater burden and fecal sludge management and treatment are also relatively high. 

There is a requirement for a better flush system that needs less water while ensuring a hygienic and clean toilet. The challenge participants need to design and prototype stage 1 and 2, a flush system on a squat toilet pan, which they can make from either ceramic or recycled plastic that uses no more than 2.5-liter water to clean the pan surface of any visible fecal residues evaluated via actual or simulated human feces. 

Incentives

Winner: 5 lakh INR

1st Runner Up: 2.5 lakh INR

Post Submission Procedure

The committee would judge all participants based on objective criteria.

Things to Know

Entry for the first round is through virtue of computer animation, an engineering drawing, or simulation. It needs to be accompanied by a technical write-up explaining the inventive steps and their scientific rationale. It shall not exceed 1k words.

Launch Date: 22 March 2021 (World Water Day)

Winner selection: 5 June 2021 (World Environment Day)

Click here to apply.

Qualcomm Design in India Challenges

Qualcomm Design in India Challenge – 2021 is a continuation of Qualcomm’s initiative in 2016 to promote design houses and product firms to invent innovative and functional hardware product designs incorporating Qualcomm chipset platforms and technologies. 

The company took inspiration from the tremendous potential of smart devices and products that can be built in the Smart infrastructure, biometric devices, medical technology, and rural IoT domains. 

For 2021, the challenge also includes 5G applications and use cases that utilize NavlC capabilities on phones enabled with the NavlC feature. 

With India’s PM’s vision to digitally transform India and empower society, Qualcomm is extending its support to the country’s tech ecosystem via the challenge. In its sixth edition, while partnering with AGNII and Startup India, Qualcomm continues to support the domestic hardware ecosystem, positively impacting the product ecosystem of design and improving India’s manufacturing facilities.

Eligibility Criteria

• Individual startup companies that demonstrate embedded design and hardware experience
• HW design proposals focusing on one of the domains – 5G application and NavlC use cases, Medical technology, smart infrastructure, rural and industrial IoT, regardless of the product’s form factor. 
• Only for Indian registered companies
• Minimum 6 months established operations in hardware solution and design

Relevant Stakeholders

• Individual
• Validation Stage Startup
• Early Traction Startup
• Scaling Stage Startup

Relevant Industry

• Advertising
• Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence
• Agriculture
• AI
• Airport Operations
• Analytics
• Animation
• AR VR (Augmented + Virtual Reality)
• Architecture Interior Design
• Art & Photography
• Automotive
• Biotechnology
• Chemicals
• Computer Vision
• Construction
• Dating Matrimonial
• Design
• Education
• Enterprise Software
• Events
• Fashion
• Finance Technology
• Food & Beverages
• Green Technology
• Healthcare & Lifesciences
• House-Hold Services
• Human Resources
• Indic Language Startups
• Internet Of Things
• IT Services
• Logistics
• Marketing
• Media & Entertainment
• Nanotechnology
• Non- Renewable Energy
• Other Specialty Retailers
• Others
• Passenger Experience
• Pets & Animals
• Professional & Commercial Services
• Real Estate
• Renewable Energy
• Retail
• Robotics
• Safety
• Security Solutions
• Social Impact
• Social Network
• Sports
• Technology Hardware
• Telecommunication & Networking
• Textiles & Apparel
• Toys And Games
• Transportation & Storage
• Travel & Tourism
• Waste Management

Relevant Service Type

• Consulting
• Consumer Internet
• Discovery
• E-Commerce
• Engineering
• Enterprise Mobility
• Government
• Hyperlocal
• Location-Based Services
• Manufacturing
• Marketplace
• Mobile
• Offline
• Online Aggregator
• Others
• Peer To Peer
• Platform
• Rental
• Research
• SaaS
• Sharing Economy
• Social Enterprise
• Subscription Commerce

Incentives

• Each of twelve shortlisted participants would get a cash prize of up to 320k INR to covert their design submission into workable prototypes via the Qualcomm® Innovation Lab.
• One winner and two runner-ups would win 65 lakh INR, 50 lakh INR, and 35 lakh INR in prize money, respectively, at the end of the incubation period. 
• Eight months of dedicated technical and engineering support and mentoring
• mentorship workshops
• Patent filing grant, up to 3.3 lakh INR
• Innovation commercialization grant

Timeline

Application Phase: 25 February 2021 to 18 April 2021

Shortlisting: May 2021

Hardware Incubation: July 2021 to February 2022

Grand Finale: March 2022

The committee will consider the proposal according to its merits and other factors, including utility value, innovativeness, market relevance, design compatibility, product design robustness, time to market advantage, business potential, commercialization ability, and scale after the challenge.

Click here to apply. 

Rucha Joshi is fueled by her passion for creative writing. She is eager to turn information into action. With her hunger for knowledge, she considers herself a forever student. She’s currently working as a content writer and is always interested in a challenge.