Dalmia Bharat recently announced the Dalmia Bharat AIM Smart City Accelerator programme that aims to nurture the best start-ups focused on building a smarter and sustainable India. The programme is a joint initiative between Dlabs at the Indian School of Business (ISB) and the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Ashoka University. Supported by Microsoft India, the programme is aimed at nurturing the best start-ups focused on building a smarter and sustainable India. It will focus on four broad verticals healthcare, education, logistics/ transportation and infrastructure.
The smart city accelerator programme, spread over a period of four months, will be open to early stage entrepreneurs. Applications will be shortlisted by mid-March on the basis of financial viability, technology feasibility, desirability to target audience, sustainability of the solution and track record of the team. An investment support of up to `10 lakh will be provided to each team selected. Microsoft will support this through its BizSpark programme and a recently announced special initiative for Indian technology start-ups for smart cities. Qualifying start-ups can apply for individual access up to `80 lakh worth of Azure cloud computing. The cloud computing capability may be used to create innovative solutions and pilot projects for smart cities.
ISB and Ashoka University will provide access to some of its finest academic and industry networks, which will provide mentorship to the start-ups. The Holostik Group will support the accelerator through its mentor network and access to funding.