The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) 10,000 Startup programme has decided to open its second warehouse in Kolkata after existing ware. The warehouse, as defined by Nasscom, is a co-working facility that can be leased by start-ups for six months at a nominal cost.
The trade association has recently entered into a partnership with the West Bengal Government and the Information Technology and Electronics Department of the Government of West Bengal for the same. This is NASSCOM’S effort to reach out to the maximum number of young entrepreneurs and businesses.
In order to qualify for selection at the Start-up Warehouse, Kolkata interested startup may fill application form here. Startups will be charged a nominal monthly rental of INR 2,500 (exclusive of service tax) for each seat at the Warehouse.
This will be the second warehouse under NASSCOM’S 10,000 Startup initiative. The association launched its first warehouse back in 2013 in India's Silicon Valley, Bangalore. The Bangalore warehouse was launched in a partnership with the Government of Karnataka.
The Kolkata warehouse will be managed by NASSCOM 10,000 Startup programme and receive financial support from the Government of West Bengal. More such startup warehouses are being planned to launch in other cities such as Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad.
“West Bengal has been one of the fast growing state economies with a healthy growth rate of close to 9.8 per cent. With its rich cultural heritage and history of being the breeding grounds of one of India’s largest business houses, the state has always been very supportive for the new businesses with its friendly policy structure. NASSCOM is happy to set-up center of excellence for innovation and entrepreneurship in Kolkata and thank the Government for all the support and cooperation,” said R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM.
The warehouses will act as an affordable co-working space for startups. The Kolkata warehouse is located right in the centre of the city and has a capacity of housing more than a dozen startups.
NASSCOM through its startup warehouse will provide the startups with a central, well-connected, plug-and-play working space for first six months of their operations on a per-seater basis. Further, the warehouse will also be visited by local members of the 10,000 Startups mentor network. The members will provide one- on -one mentorship to startups housed in the warehouse.
“We are hoping that this would evolve into a collaborative centre for learning, sharing and development of ideas. The vision of NASSCOM 10,000 Start-ups is to provide a platform for entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into scalable businesses,” said Rajat Tandon, Senior Director, NASSCOM 10,000 Startups to e27.co.
NASSCOM is looking forward to setting up such ‘startup warehouses’ in various other cities of the country.
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