Startup Street: This B2B Startup Has Inked A Deal With AmazonBusiness
Here’s what went on this week on Startup Street.
This week on Startup Street we have a venture that has tied up to provide office supplies to AmazonBusiness, the Telengana government’s Rs 2,000-crore master fund for startups and 300 women entrepreneurs have signed up for Karnataka’s Elevate 2017 initiative.
Nuoaura’s Deal With AmazonBusiness
Business-to-business startup Nuoaura will be a supplier for AmazonBusiness, said its Founder and Chief Executive Officer Sharad Jaiprakash.
AmazonBusiness offers office supplies to businesses. It’s not clear when it will launch in India. Emailed queries to Amazon India over the weekend didn’t elicit any response.
Nuoaura is a one-stop-shop that provides office supplies to companies such as Tata Group, Tesco, Xerox and many more. It is also the sole supplier for everything from consumables to stationary for Amazon India’s internal use.
Launched in January last year with an internal funding of Rs 20 lakh, Nuoaura broke even in October 2016, Jaiprakash told BloomergQuint over the phone. The company has offices in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai and is looking to expand to Pune, Mumbai and Delhi in the next quarter. It also plans enter tier-two cities, he said.
Nuoaura is looking to raise $1 million in its series A round in the next six months to fund its expansion. The startup is in talks with private institutions and lenders such as Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and IDBI Bank, Jaiprakash said.
Telengana Announces A Rs 2,000 Crore Master Fund For Startups
The Telengana government has decided to set up a Rs 2,000-crore master fund to invest into both sector-specific and general venture capital funds. This follows the guidelines issued on July 25 by the state government as part of its innovation policy.
The master fund will be accompanied by a 'T-SEED' fund which will allocate Rs 250 crore for early-stage funding and to encourage innovators to research ideas. The state has also provided for a 'Phoenix Fund' to identify and attract entrepreneurs who have had some degree of success in the past.
“The government shall leverage the expertise of T-Hub Board of Directors, corporate network and senior government officials, who will constitute a panel to decide the nature and amount of fund investments,” the policy statement read.
The funds will be managed by a professional fund manager who will have the responsibility to attract new money from institutions, venture capital and private equity firms and high net worth individuals.
300 Women Entrepreneurs Sign Up For Elevate 2017
300 women entrepreneurs registered for mentorship and funds under the Rs 400-crore 'Elevate 2017' scheme in a bid to turn their ideas into businesses, said Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge.
The government has already earmarked Rs 10 crore for select women entrepreneurs.
The women, registered across Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi, Kalaburagi and Bengaluru, are competing with other registered entrepreneurs for capital from the Rs 400-crore fund that would be distributed to 100 selected entrepreneurs. They pitched for funds at open house sessions held at various cities across the state beginning July 27.
The winners will be announced on August 29 and 30, Kharge said.
(With inputs from PTI)