In a strategic collaboration, the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Google Cloud India, Antler in India, Paytm, Protean, and Startup India have united forces to unveil the ‘Build for Bharat’ initiative. This collective endeavour aims to tackle the multifaceted challenges within the digital commerce sector, fostering innovation to develop practical solutions. Envisioning participation from over 200,000 individuals spanning startups, corporations, and educational institutions, ‘Build for Bharat’ seeks to harness India’s technological prowess and entrepreneurial spirit.
Spread across 50 cities nationwide, the initiative adopts an inclusive, ecosystem-driven approach. It brings together top-notch experts, industry leaders, venture capitalists, and incubators. The launch event on December 4 marked the beginning, unveiling problem statements and inviting registrations. The initiative targets sectors like Retail, Mobility, F&B, Financial Services, and Logistics, aiming for three core outcomes.
The ‘NextGen Ventures’ category aims to catalyse venture creation on ONDC, offering a pathway for aspiring founders or early-stage founder teams to secure capital, launch and scale businesses. The ‘Scalable Solutions’ category welcomes organisations, individuals, and students to address friction points encountered by Network Participants. Additionally, the ‘Foundation Solutions’ category exclusively targets college students (18+) to ideate proof of concept for NP-related challenges.
Winners in the ‘NextGen Ventures’ category stand to gain exclusive opportunities from Antler in India, mentorship from industry veterans, and access to equity-free grants of up to INR 5 Crores. Furthermore, they earn a chance to join Antler Residency, potentially unlocking venture capital funding opportunities.
Google India pledges Cloud credits and technical guidance to shortlisted teams. ‘Build for Bharat’ serves as a collaboration, pooling together expertise and creativity from participants across the country to fuel innovation and drive solutions in the digital commerce landscape
