Flipkart launches startup accelerator program, offers $25k equity-free grant

Walmart-owned ecommerce marketplace Flipkart has launched a startup accelerator programme named ‘Flipkart Leap’ that will help new and upcoming startups grow and scale.

The programme, which is now open for registrations, will offer a 16-week virtual platform for select business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) startups, the company said in a statement.

Flipkart’s leadership from business, operations, product and technology will mentor the selected startups. Industry experts will also hold master class sessions.

The programme will shortlist relevant startups on five broad themes -- design and make for India, innovation in digital commerce, technologies to empower the retail ecosystem, supply chain management and logistics and enabling relevant deep tech applications. 

According to the statement, Flipkart aims to bring digitization and technology advancement in these thematic areas.

The 16-week programme is curated in partnership with Zinnov. It will also offer an equity-free grant of $25,000 to select startups.

The startups applying for the programme should be based out of India and should have a working prototype with early adoption metrics.

Post the completion of the programme, the startups will pitch their models to investors, corporates and other ecosystem players on the demo-day and may also be considered for funding by Flipkart, the statement added.

In March last year, Flipkart had launched an internal fund to back early-stage startups in e-commerce, fintech, payments and complementary segments. However, it has not made any follow-on announcements or investments from the fund. Flipkart had earlier been investing in startups through its balance sheet.