Google Launchpad Accelerator reveals incoming batch
including the first startup from Pakistan
The Google Acceleration Program is an international acceleration program that help build up businesses and startups scale up and even to produce its own products. What Google allows these startups is the ability to make connections with Google and utilize the facilities and technologies that Google has developed over the number of years.
Google quite recently announced the startups that have made the quick and have made the latest edition of the Launchpad Accelerator Program. Established last year, the program offers the shortlisted startups a multitude of offers to their shortlisted startups. It offers them an equity-free support alongside a two week all-expense paid training at Google Headquarters in Silicon Valley. This includes personalized mentorship from experts in Google alongside a global media coverage and access to mentors and endorsement 5 Google themselves.
Read: IBA Selected to Host Hult Prize Pakistan
What makes this year’s edition of the Launchpad accelerator program interesting that 10 out of the 24 shortlisted students are from Asia. Google announced earlier this year that the application has opened up for a few more countries in South Asia. As a result of this, the first ever Pakistani and Bangladeshi companies are all set to join the cohort starting January 2018. See the 10 Asia-Pacific entrants below:
- VividTech (Pakistan): wants to improve the experience of being put “on hold” by your service provider by replacing looped muzak with interactive and visual experiences.
VividTech is an alumni of Plan9 – Punjab IT Board’s incubator and LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship. They secured a funding of $350K at seed stage from a combination of investors including Rosemont Group, Sunbridge Ventures, Telefonica and Conrad Labs.
In addition to this, the incoming cohort includes:
- Ayannah (The Philippines): has developed a number of B2B and B2C financial services for underbanked communities, including cross-border remittances
- BabyChakra (India): is a parenting and pregnancy advice app
- Kulina (Indonesia): delivers meals on a subscription basis, using tech to make the supply chain and logistics more efficient
- Maya Apa (Bangladesh): crowdsources answers to anonymous user questions on topics such as healthcare and legal issues
- Monkey Junior (Vietnam): offers online courses in languages, mathematics, and science for young children
- m.Paani (India): uses loyalty schemes and special offers to help brands gain marketing insights
- Niramai (India): is building a low-cost, software-based diagnostic system for detecting breast cancer
- Priceza (Thailand): is a price comparison app and search engine for shoppers
- SocialCops (India): collects, cleans, and analyzes data to help governments and nonprofits with policy and strategic decision-making
Source: TechinAsia
