US-based social investor Village Capital is inviting applications for its FinTech: India 2017 programme, which will train and invest in early-stage fin-tech startups, it said in a press statement.
The programme is being supported by global payments giant PayPal Holdings, Inc. and Dutch development bank FMO, the statement added.
The selected companies will participate in three- or four-day workshops, where they will work with Village Capital’s investment-readiness curriculum and engage with potential customers, strategic partners, investors, and sector experts. At the end of the programme, the top two companies in the cohort, as selected by their peers, will receive an investment offer of $50,000 each.
After an extensive process, Village Capital will select 12-15 companies to undergo a personalised, three-month non-residential programme.
In April, global investment bank Nomura had said it was looking to invest in fin-tech startups in India, among other countries, using its newly set-up $100-million fund under subsidiary N-Village. The investment bank has also backed one of Asia’s largest fin-tech-focused VC funds based out of Hong Kong, Nikhil Mehta, fin-tech lead and executive director at Nomura Services India, had told VCCircle.
Village Capital said the applications will close on October 6.
Earlier this month, PayPal had shortlisted five fin-tech startups for the fifth edition of its India Incubator Challenge. The payments firm will be picking up an undisclosed amount of stake in each of the selected startups this year.
Launched in 2013 in partnership with The Indus Entrepreneurs, the PayPal Incubator focuses on startups in financial technology and adjacencies like loyalty, machine learning, big data and logistics. The Chennai-based incubator provides startups with technology counsel and mentorship, infrastructure support, and networking opportunities with both investors and customers.
PayPal has shown its interest in India’s fin-tech space, which has grown by leaps and bounds following the government’s decision to scrap high-value banknotes in November last year. To strengthen its position, PayPal has reportedly sought a wallet (prepaid payment instrument) licence from the Reserve Bank of India.
