New Delhi, Nov 18 (KNN) BharatX, a joint venture between India Accelerator and think-tank Council for International Economic Understanding (CIEU) on Thursday announced that it will invest USD 15 million over the next 18 months in the Indian startup ecosystem.

As per reports, BharatX will invest Rs 1-5 crore in each startup during the first edition of the accelerator programme.

"The number of startups in India rose from 471 in 2016 to 72,993 by June 2022, which is fuelling the Indian tech wave. To build a Swadeshi Startup Ecosystem in India, BharatX announces to inject USD 15 million over the period of 18 months to build and scale nationwide," BharatX said in a statement.

“With the growth of emerging technologies, young talent and infrastructure to support them, the swadeshi startup ecosystem in India has been developing,” the statement said.

Speaking about BharatX’s initiative, CEO Munish Bhatia said, "With India becoming the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, Bharat-specific startups from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities require different interventions and ecosystems to help build solutions for the next over 800 million people. BharatX will bridge that gap and enable the next stage of expansion of the startup ecosystem through specialised programmes."

"The aim to accelerate startups and to rejuvenate growth in rural India and smaller towns can truly make a huge economic impact. There is a great potential in rural and smaller towns, which is the 'Real Bharat' to give tough competition to the world, in terms of cost, latent talent and manpower," BharatX Governing board member and Swadeshi Jagran Manch, National co-convenor, Ashwani Mahajan said.

BharatX, under this initiative will also facilitate access to leading corporations along with a dialogue with policymakers.  (KNN Bureau)