Mahindra Group, which is a leading player in the automobile sector in India is planning to join the Startup bandwagon by helping its employees build Startups. Mahindra Group will focus on providing seed funding and incubation facilities to its employees who want to make an impact in the burgeoning Startup culture in India.
Anand Mahindra, who is the Group chairman, said that it was completely natural for Mahindra Group to take an active part in the Startup arena. Not just in automobile sector but also in other areas. Over the past few months, many employees have already forwarded applications with their ideas and the investment committee is busy shortlisting them.
The company has recently launched its first Startup , SmartShift. Essentially a mobile app, it enables cargo owners to connect with transporters for intra-city logistics.Mahindra Group will soon launch two more startups in the farm and car services space. Also, they are planning to incubate 20-15 Startups in the next twelve months or so.
Mahindra is mainly interested in funding startups in the digital, ecommerce and analytics space. They are also planning to fund in Startups that can add value to its existing businesses in automotive, farm products, holidays, real estate and information technology sector.
Employees who wish to turn entrepreneurs may have to resign from their current positions before starting their Startup journey. They are planning to initially provide a series of seed funding, which will be typically less than $1 million each, to startups and later seek funds from outside investors in order to scale up the business. Also, Mahindra Group may consider exiting some startups in future and remain shareholders in others
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