Microsoft Accelerator and Accenture Ventures Announce Ecosystem Partnership

Microsoft Accelerator, the program built to empower start-ups, and Accenture Ventures, which partners with and invests in growth-stage companies that create innovative enterprise technologies, today announced a new ecosystem partnership that aims to strengthen the start-up ecosystem in India. The two companies will help growth-stage technology B2B start-ups boost their enterprise readiness and go-to market, and help achieve scale in national and international markets. This was announced at Microsoft Accelerator’s flagship event, ThinkNext 2018. The event, which was attended by over 400 business and industry thought leaders, start-ups, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs also marked the graduation Microsoft Accelerator’s 11^th winter cohort.

Microsoft Accelerator and Accenture Ventures will support growth-stage technology B2B start-ups in India specializing in artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented/virtual reality, blockchain, fintech, big data, security and customer experience solutions, and provide access to Accenture’s global clients and Microsoft’s global network. The ecosystem partnership will help start-ups deploy solutions in large India and global client environments, improvise on their business model and sharpen their go-to-market strategy. Start-ups stand to gain by developing innovative solutions for enterprise use cases created out of the synergy between Microsoft Accelerator and Accenture Ventures and their shared innovation ecosystems consisting of start-ups, venture capitalists, universities and corporate R&D labs.

Speaking on the ecosystem partnership, Bala Girisaballa, Managing Director, Microsoft Accelerator, said, “Start-ups are the centers of innovation, and over the past decade they have played a crucial role in disrupting many industries worldwide. Today, the need is to create a collaborative environment and bring start-ups and corporates together to co-create and co-innovate. Our partnership with Accenture showcases our commitment to connect start-ups with large corporates and help them scale up to become successful businesses.”

Commenting on the ecosystem partnership, Avnish Sabharwal, managing director, Accenture Ventures, India, said, “At Accenture Ventures, we believe that an open innovation approach can help enterprises accelerate adoption of ‘The New’, underpinned by innovation and digital. This ecosystem partnership is an example of how we orchestrate the innovation ecosystem and create opportunities for start-ups to grow and scale-up. We are excited about the unique value that Accenture Ventures and Microsoft Accelerator can together create for start-ups and enterprises.”

Through this ecosystem partnership, Microsoft Accelerator and Accenture Ventures together will host various start-up events and summits in India which will enable them to engage deeply with the start-up network and bring new opportunities to innovate for clients. In the process, the ecosystem partnership will significantly strengthen the Indian B2B start-up network and support “Startup India” and “Digital India” programs.