Deadline to apply for Tech Rocketship Awards extended to 30 June
Hundreds of entries so far: extension due to popular demand.
Tech Rocketship Awards are an initiative by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) in India that provides top Indian young entrepreneurs with expert business advice and support to help them go global through the UK. This year has seen a record number of applicants vying to be one of ten winners of a trip to the UK. The competition opened for applications on April 11 at a launch by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Mumbai. Over 400 top quality young entrepreneurs have applied so far.
Amo Kalar, Deputy Director UKTI India said:
We are very pleased at the level of high quality interest in the competition. Even after we closed the deadline for entries on 12 June, a number of very good applications have come in. We have therefore decided to extend it for a few more days to ensure no one misses out. We are looking for the next batch of leading Indian young entrepreneurs who have the potential to change the world through their innovations. The Tech Rocketship Awards will provide them with the platform to take the plunge overseas and put them on the right path to realising their global ambitions.
Now in its third year, the competition will enable top young entrepreneurs to raise their profile with UK and Indian investors. The ten most promising businesses will win a week-long business trip to the UK. There they will experience the UK’s burgeoning tech ecosystem first hand, meeting UK venture capitalists, mentors, entrepreneurs and incubators, as well as experts from UKTI and leading professional services firms who will guide them on how to establish a firm footing abroad.
This year’s high profile judges include Anand Mahindra; T.V. Mohandas Pai, of Aarin Capital; Saurabh Srivastava of the Indian Angel Network; self-made entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar Shaw; and young entrepreneur Shradha Sharma of YourStory, a leading tech media platform.
Applications are open to entrepreneurs under 40 in India who have been operating a company created from the year 2000 onwards. One winner will be selected from each of five categories – cleantech, edtech, fintech, medtech and smart manufacturing - and a further five winners will be selected in the ‘Judges’ Awards’ section, from any sector. The winners will be announced at the UK-India Technology Summit in New Delhi, in November 2016.
The 6 winners from last year’s competition will soon be participating in London Technology Week (June 20-26) - a festival of live events taking place throughout the UK’s capital to celebrate London as a global powerhouse of tech innovation. While in London, the winners will meet and learn from top tech enterprise figures. Two winners from last year, Project Mudra (Braille learning) and FT cash (A mobile app for micro-merchants), were featured at the royal launch in April and were lauded by the judges for their innovations.
The competition is a GREAT for Collaboration initiative, seeking to form a lasting partnership between India’s fast-growing start-ups and UK financing and support for entrepreneurs. The UK provides an excellent platform for Indian companies to grow their businesses overseas, with world leading financial and professional services and a burgeoning technology sector.
The applications for competition are open till June 30. Applicants can find the details on Tech Rocketship Awards website.
Further information
Four pitching events will form the next stage in the competition, where the top 50 entrepreneurs will be heard by senior investors and mentors:
| 5 August | Church Street Social, Bangalore |
| 10 August | Hauz Khas Social, Delhi |
| 19 August | Stone Water Grill, Mundhwa, Pune |
| 26 August | Chennai |
Read more: A Rocketship-fuelled business trip to the UK
GREAT for Collaboration: Launched by Prime Ministers Modi and Cameron, the campaign celebrates and drives Trade and Investment partnerships between India and the UK, and showcases the great things the UK and India do together. The two PMs and ten of the countries’ most senior business leaders appeared on a video to launch the campaign.
Participate in ‘TRA Day of Campaign’ through Thunderclap - Sign up here.
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the government department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy and offers professional, authoritative and personalised assistance to help companies in India locate and expand in the UK.
- the UK has been a popular destination for Indian investments for over 100 years.
- with low tax and a talented workforce, Britain is one of the easiest places in the world to grow your business.
- it takes only 13 days to set up a business in the UK, compared with the world average of 35 days.
- the UK is ranked 6th globally for Ease of Doing Business. According to World Bank’s report (Oct 2015), the UK has become an easier place to do business in the past year after reforms to red tape and corporate tax
- in 2014-15, the UK won a record number of inward investment projects and maintains position as top investment destination in Europe.
- India emerged as Britain’s third biggest job creator in 2014 as the country saw a 65% increase in foreign direct investments (FDI) from India. In 2014-2015 Indian investments in 122 FDI projects created 7,730 new jobs and safeguarded 1,620 jobs in the UK. (Source UKTI)
- the total number of people in the UK employed by Indian companies has increased by 10 per cent: from 1,00,000 in 2014 to nearly 1,10,000. (Grant Thornton)
- ICT, Advanced Engineering and Life Sciences are among key sectors for investment from India.
- the UK offers the lowest corporation tax rate in G20, and is a gateway to Europe and the world
Find out why the UK is the most attractive overseas business destination
Tech Rocketship Awards – Partners are:
For media queries, please contact:
Stuart Adam, Head,
Press and Communications
British High Commission,
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
Tel: 24192100; Fax: 24192411
Mail to: Jagori Dhar
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