WhatsApp starts registration for Startup India Challenge, to grant $250K to top 5 startups

Amidst tussle among startups, investors and government over Angel Tax, Invest India under its flagship initiative Startup India has brought some good news for budding entrepreneurs in the country.

In collaboration with messaging app WhatsApp, it has launched a portal (microsite) for the registration of Startup India – WhatsApp Grand Challenge.

The challenge was announced during WhatsApp’s Vice President Chris Daniels' visit to India in October, last year.

Dedicated to driving success and enhancing grassroots innovation, the grand challenge will see 30 ideas shortlisted for the initial round and out of them, 10 will be demonstrated live for the finals.

The initiative will grant a total of $250,000 to the top 5 winners.

Registrations for the same has been started from Thursday (31/01/2019) and will be available till March 10, after which the entries will be evaluated by a Startup India and results will be announced later on May 24.

The Facebook-owned company lists healthcare, rural economy, financial and digital inclusion, education and citizen safety as the themes for the startup challenge.

During the announcement, it was also informed that an additional $250,000 will be directed to a select few from the entrepreneurial community to promote their WhatsApp business number on Facebook.

Recently, WhatsApp Business app claimed to cross 5 million merchants within a year of launch in India. Using the business app, SMEs can help customers with useful information such as business description, e-mail, store addresses, and website. The messaging app has over 200 million users in India.

The company has also unveiled new features for the desktop version where users can enjoy quick replies, labels and chat list filtering on the web app.