Bosch launches its first startup accelerator program

Posted on November 22, 2016

Engineering and technology solutions company, Bosch launched its first startup accelerator program in India on Monday. The program is nicknamed DNA (Discover Nurture Align) and is intended to give Bosch a foothold in India’s booming startup market. This would be the first time Bosch would work with startups to mentor and get them investment ready. DNA is an eighteen week program and provides intense development, mentoring and piloting platform for start-ups. “Bosch India is looking to partner and collaborate with start-ups that work on disruptive solutions in the areas of mobility solutions, smart manufacturing, smart cities, meditech, agritech and energy”, said Manohar Esarapu, head of Bosch India’s Start-Up Alliance program. “Bosch is also looking to work with start-ups who could help build solutions in enabling technology areas such as, Internet of things (IoT), deep learning, analytics, cloud, virtual reality and block chain”, Manohar Esarapu added.

The chosen start-ups would receive personalized mentorship from Bosch experts in areas such as, engineering, scope specific domains, product design, operations, finance and legal practices. The chosen startups can also appeal to external investors for investments through Bosch’s ecosystem. Bosch is also open to partnering with these startups in order to cater to markets in new domains. Manohar Esarapu believes that this approach will make Bosch flexible and agile in its business approach and will also give it an additional source of income when there are disruptions in traditional markets. “This program will help Bosch diversify growth into areas beyond mobility solutions”, Esarapu said. Bosch’s DNA program would provide support with scaling, industrialization of products, market reach and design thinking elements that will enable start-ups to grow and consolidate faster, it said. Read more on Investments

The DNA program provided by Bosch can be termed as ‘the need of the hour’ as far as India is concerned. India has a booming startup ecosystem with many innovative startups. They can benefit by marketing themselves and appealing to external investors through Bosch’s vast network and ecosystem. The company too can learn new technologies from these startups and implement them in the market to get additional sources of income. It will be useful when there are disruptions in traditional markets. There can be no doubt that the partnership between Bosch and startups will be a win – win situation for both. The government of India should encourage more of such programs and partnerships from established corporates. Read more on Startup News