Growth stage startup accelerator The Circle Founders Club (The Circle FC), which counts Hunch Ventures as its investor, has launched an accelerator programme to empower early-stage climate-tech startups that solve water-related problems in India.
The 12-week programme ‘The Water Challenge’ is launched in collaboration with the Embassy of Israel in India and IDE Technologies.
Under the cohort, the 10 selected startups are Phyfarm, Aumsat, Hydrotec Solution, Nimble Vision, WaterLab Solutions, Hygienity, Biofilm Engineers, EcoEnso, Watsan Environtech, and iSync.
Founded in 2020, The Circle FC is a Delhi NCR-based business accelerator which supports growth stage startups through mentorship and other access to the ecosystem. Currently, it claims to be working with startups across India, Israel, South Korea, Japan, the US, the UK, among other countries.
It counts Freshworks, AWS among companies along with some angel investors as its partners.
According to Circle FC, this programme aligns with the global sustainability and ESG principles, as it reinforces its commitment to help startups by prioritising eco-friendly solutions for pressing water-related challenges.
Nemesisa Ujjain, VP – Innovation, The Circle FC, said, “In a world where water scarcity is a looming challenge, we are dedicated to supporting startups driving change, pushing the boundaries of innovation, and ensuring that India emerges as a global leader in water-tech solutions.”
The selected startups offer a diverse array of solutions, addressing critical water issues in India, ranging from smart agriculture platforms and satellite-based water infrastructure intelligence to affordable water purifiers and smart water management solutions utilising IoT and AI, said a statement.
In addition to offering fundraising opportunities, the accelerator will offer comprehensive support, including technology validation, commercialisation guidance, market access, etc to the selected startups.
The startups will also get mentorship from industry experts from both India and Israel, including IDE Technologies, Absolute, Kristnam Technologies, Hunch Ventures, Omnivore Partners, Speciale Invest, MITCON, and Enviraj Consulting.
The startups will get to pitch their solutions to a jury panel comprising venture capitalists and investors, competing for the winning prize, at the Demo Day to be held in February this year.
Climate and sustainability-focused tech innovations have become a centre of focus for several corporates and Indian venture capital funds.
For instance, last year mining giant Vedanta announced collaboration with over 100 startups to explore sustainable technologies as part of the third edition of Vedanta Spark, a global corporate accelerator programme aimed at providing over 100 projects with opportunities worth up to $5 Mn in sustainable and transformative technologies.
Also, environment focussed non-profit organisation Massive Earth Foundation launched a climate tech accelerator program called Low Carbon Earth (LCE) in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme to support climate-tech startups.
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