Visa services firm BLS International launches sector-agnostic accelerator

BLS International Services Ltd, an outsourcing service provider for visa and consular services, has launched an accelerator programme to assist innovative businesses.

As a part of its sector-agnostic programme, BLS Accelerator will support early-stage startups with up to Rs 50 lakh in seed funding along with mentoring in areas such as technology, upgrading citizen services, product ideation and development, and go-to-market strategy.

The three-month-long programme aims to promote a start-local-and-go-global approach for Indian companies and targets investment in more than 100 global and Indian startups in the next two-three years.

Delhi-based BLS International will select five startups for the first batch on the basis of value proposition, market traction, and team credentials. It also plans to invest up to Rs 5 crore in the programme by the end of this year.

“Our decision to start BLS Accelerator is a way to support the future Indian business leaders on their initial journey and scale both in India and globally,” said Shikhar Aggarwal, joint managing director at BLS International. “We see this as a great opportunity in innovation and technology business and at the same time, support the Startup India initiative by the government.”

For growth-stage startups, BLS Accelerator will both invest and facilitate market exposure to more than 60 countries where BLS International currently operates.

Shivam Ahuja, co-founder of Delhi Startups and Delhi Angels, has joined as a senior member of the core team to help startups expand globally.