Blume Ventures, Benhamou Global Ventures (BGV) and Emergent Ventures have launched the first-of-its-kind India-US cross-border accelerator platform, Arka Venture Labs.
Currently open only to B2B startups that have a minimum viable product (MVP) with a strong potential in the US or European region, Arka will operate out of Blume’s India office and BGV’s Valley office, according to news reports.
Focussed on facilitating a faster global transition to Indian B2B startups, Arka will provide seed and pre-seed funding of upto $200,000 along with infrastructural support, mentorship, and access to the Silicon Valley ecosystem, critical for scaling up B2B startups in the US.
Apart from mentoring and funding, the platform also provides working space for these startups. Blume brings in experience and knowledge of the Indian startup ecosystem, while BGV and Emergent Ventures bring in operational expertise in the B2B and cross-border investment segments.
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In a press statement Sanjay Nath, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Blume Ventures said, “enterprise-focused, ‘built-in-India for global markets’ products and platforms like Inmobi, Freshworks, Browserstack, and Grey Orange Robotics have emerged as new B2B models. We are very excited that Arka – a first-of-its-kind initiative – that will bring together capital, cross-border ecosystem linkages, and access to a global customer base to benefit the next wave of India’s innovative B2B startups.”
Indian startups, start looking at how to approach the US market, after operating for three to four years in India and after establishing a domestic client base.
There are many sub-segments within the Indian B2B cross-border ecosystem. For example, some startups target large enterprises while others sell to small and medium companies. In some cases, founders have substantial international work experience while in other cases, they have none. Arka is designed to provide each company a unique path appropriate for its needs.
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