The social media giant Facebook Inc.-owned messaging service said it would invest $250,000 as a seed funding in the top five winners of the ‘WhatsApp StartUp Challenge’ .
WhatsApp on Wednesday officially gave an official statement regarding the association with Invest India for a programme focuses on the proliferation of start-ups by promoting economic growth and producing employment opportunities in India.
Invest India, the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of India plays as the first point reference for investors in India. Their main focus is on sector-specific investor aiming and expanding new partnerships to sustain investments in India. The collaboration with the Facebook Inc.is one of the most significant corporate partnership where Invest India has involved in so far.
The messaging service owned by The Facebook Inc. said that it would invest $250,000 as the seed funding in the top five winners of ‘‘WhatsApp StartUp Challenge’’ and an extra sum of $250,000 will be headed to a selected few from the entrepreneurial community to promote their WhatsApp business on Facebook and discovery of their businesses.
Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Commerce and Industry addressed the audience at the launching of the event on Wednesday, said, “The start-up community is the future of India, and through this platform, millions of youths in the country will be employed.” The initiation would help in generating growth of India’s entrepreneurial and small business organizations, said the Facebook Inc. in a statement.
“India adds over three start-ups a day, ranking it among the top start-up nations in the world. A significant number of start-ups is spearheaded by women. In fact, women-led start-ups are increasing by over 100% per annum,” said Deepak Bagla, CEO & MD, Invest India.
Invest India is working with WhatsApp to drive awareness about its business tools around 15 states over 60,000 businesses in the coming months with Startup India ‘Yatra’ programme and in-person training events.
Chris Daniels, the vice-president, WhatsApp, said, “WhatsApp cares deeply about helping businesses connect with customers and grow. We’re excited to work closely with Startup India by supporting entrepreneurs and start-ups to become engines of economic growth.”
