US Embassy launches Nexus Startup Hub in Delhi

The US Embassy on Thursday said it has launched the Nexus Startup Hub at the American Center here, aiming to support a dynamic ecosystem for innovative Indian startups through the sharing of American best business practices in entrepreneurship and incubation.

The US Embassy said till date, 20 startups have completed the 10-week pre-incubation programme and nine have been selected for long-term incubation.

According to the Embassy, the third cohort of the pre-incubation programme began at the end of January.

Along with the launch of the startup hub, the US Embassy also announced two new Nexus initiatives for 2018.

"The first is a programme that provides training, mentoring and networking opportunities specifically to female entrepreneurs throughout India," the US Embassy said in a statement.

"This women-focused programme is designed to support and empower women with entrepreneurial interests who are currently studying at India's universities to overcome barriers and become future leaders in India's startup sector," it added.

In addition, the Embassy announced South Asia Connect at Nexus, a new grant provided from the State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.

"The grant will support the expansion of Nexus' offerings to include startups in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka," it said.

"The response to the Nexus programme has been overwhelmingly positive and we have already seen some great results from our first two graduated cohorts of startups," said Erik Azulay, Director of Nexus.

"The Nexus team is excited about engaging with the innovation ecosystems in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka and working to set up the same kind of active network we are building here in Delhi," he added.

Nexus is run in partnership with the IC 2 Institute at the University of Texas-Austin.

It has brought in big names in the Indian innovation ecosystem like the American Chamber of Commerce, the Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the Indian School of Business (ISB), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and the Indian Angels Network (IAN) as advisory board members.

--IANS

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