As part of its accelerator program, Flipkart Ventures, the e-commerce giant’s investment arm, announced on Monday that it is investing in five early-stage, tech-focused firms.
The startups include Algomage, Castler, FlexifyMe, NimbleBox.ai, and ReCircle, and they are all members of the Flipkart Leap Ahead (FLA) initiative.
With equity-based investments between $250,000 and $500,000, they will receive mentorship for development and innovation.
The company stated in a statement that they will also receive assistance in creating product-market fit, setting up a scalable architecture, and forming strong teams.
The program, now in its second year, strives to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship by giving business owners the resources they need to succeed in their industry and have a beneficial impact on the ecosystems in which they operate.
“We are pleased that many startups from last year’s cohort have been able to secure successful investor funding, cultivate new business relationships, and implement pilot projects to support the ecosystem,” said Lubna Ahmed, Head of Flipkart Ventures.
These firms are developing capabilities for a wide range of solutions, including circular economy, digital escrow banking stacks, and solutions powered by generative AI and machine learning.
An early stage investment arm of the Flipkart Group, Flipkart Ventures, has a $100 million fund to support Indian businesses in their early stages.
More than 15 businesses, including BeatO, Finbox, Goat Brand Labs, Hyperface, Livwell, Neuropixel, Rightbot, and others, are now part of its portfolio.
A new grocery fulfilment centre, or warehouse, was previously opened by Walmart-owned Flipkart in Sonipat, Haryana. This facility will allow the online marketplace to expand its grocery services to more than 150 pin codes in tier-II and tier-III towns including Meerut, Panipat, Rohtak, and Wazirpur.
Additionally, Walmart and Flipkart declared the signing of an MoU with the Telangana government to establish an ecosystem that will support the development of MSMEs in the state. ‘Swasti’ program director Joseph Julian KG and Telangana government Industries and Commerce Department Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan were present when the agreement was inked, according to a press release.
According to the statement, the MoU between Swasti and the Industries and Commerce Department will help local Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) develop so they can access a larger domestic market, take advantage of online retail, and enable sustained growth and commercialization.
As part of the new relationship, Walmart will increase its assistance to MSMEs in order to help them digitise their operations and promote Telangana’s capacity building. They will be able to participate in domestic supply chains both offline and online as a result, it claimed.
