MeitY, Google to help 100 Indian startups scale their app business

MeitY Startup Hub, an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and Google on Tuesday announced training and development support to 100 Indian early to mid-stage startups as part of Appscale Academy’s Class of 2023.  

A joint initiative by MeitY Startup Hub and Google that started in 2021, the goal of the Appscale Academy is to help early to mid-stage Indian startups build high-quality apps and games, and scale them grow into successful enterprises. 

In December 2022, both MeitY Startup Hub and Google said that they are now inviting applications for Appscale Academy’s Class of 2023. The 100 startups were chosen from over 950 applications following an in-depth selection process that took into account their creative ideas and innovation, product quality, product scalability, and talent diversity. 

These startups span across sectors such as education, health, social, agriculture and gaming, with 50% coming from tier-2 cities and 37% having a woman founder at the helm. Some of these creative startups solving for India’s critical needs, included as part of the programme, include, Enguru, a live learning platform, BabyG, a parenting and baby development app, Dhenoo, a knowledge platform for dairy farmers, GeeCom India an ecommerce opportunities for farmers, EyeCan, helping the visually impaired with virtual assistance), ProjectHero, a networking platform for construction workers, Kurukshetra, a strategy game inspired by Indian mythology, ZenOnco Cancer Care, an app for cancer patients and more. 

Aditya Swamy, Director, Play Partnerships, Google Play said, “Last year, we were thrilled to see our first cohort adapt learnings from the program to improve their product experience and grow their user base.” For the 2023 batch it looks forward to “supporting a fresh cohort of 100 startups in scaling their app businesses.” 

As part of the six-month program, these startups will be trained through a customized curriculum designed to help them drive high-quality apps for a global market, including sessions on UX design, business model and monetization strategies, international expansion best practices, and data safety and security practices. The startups will receive access to virtual instructor-led webinars, self-learning material, and mentorship sessions with leading local and global industry professionals. Select startups will also get an opportunity to pitch to leading venture capitalists.