Slurrp Farm, two others to get $50,000 from Amazon's accelerator

A panel evaluated the entries on a variety of parameters including business idea, scalability and strength of the business plan

E-commerce firm Amazon and Invest India announced the winners of the Amazon Global Selling Propel Startup Accelerator (the Accelerator). Slurrp Farm, Sirona Hygiene and Wellbeing Nutrition were named the top 3 winners of the program winning a combined total of $50,000 from Amazon in an equity-free grant. The Accelerator was launched on Startup India Hub earlier in the year. The aim is to help emerging Indian businesses and startups get access to customers across the world through Amazon’s e-commerce exports program and create global brands from India.

“We created the Amazon Global Selling Startup Accelerator with a vision to help take the local expertise and innovation, global,” said Amit Agarwal, Global Senior VP and Country Head, Amazon India. “We will continue to work with businesses of all sizes, helping them grow by reaching customers across India and the world.”

The top 10 finalists presented their business proposition to a  jury including Kanwaljit Singh, founder and managing partner from Fireside Ventures, Sakshi Chopra, managing director from Sequoia India, Abhijeet Muzumdar, Head of Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund and corporate development at Amazon and Aastha Grover, head, Startup India Hub, Invest India.

“The Indian startup ecosystem has transformed India into a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. Digitization has propelled the democratisation of access and opportunity for Indian businesses,” said Deepak Bagla, MD and CEO, Invest India. “Through this accelerator programme, we will tap the vast potential of emerging businesses and MSMEs to make an indelible mark in global markets.”

The panel evaluated the entries on a variety of parameters including business idea, scalability and strength of the business plan and model, business metrics in launched markets and founding team credentials. Some of the other participants in the program included upcoming brands like D’Moksha Homes and Soulflower from Mumbai, ‘Rage Coffee’ and ‘W2 Why Wait’ from Delhi NCR, Azani Active from Bengaluru, Femora from Jaipur, and True Elements from Pune.

“All of them have very fascinating products and founders. There are great stories in terms of how they're thinking about creating these brands being based in India to cater to customers across the world,” said Abhijit Kamra, director, global trade at Amazon India. “We believe that this is unlimited opportunity for Indian startups and brands to expand globally, considering their knowledge capital, innovation and manufacturing capability.”

As part of the Startup Accelerator, Amazon had constituted a mentorship board consisting of Amazon leaders from India and across the world, VCs and senior leaders from Invest India. They engaged with emerging brands to provide them tailored resources, 1:1 mentorship on the global demand patterns and insights on building successful exports businesses through e-commerce. Amazon also hosted open virtual mentorship sessions focused on peer learning by inviting veteran entrepreneurs and members from its mentorship board for startups, to network and learn from their existing ecosystem.