Zone Startups India’s Fourth Program Gateway91 Helps International Entrepreneurs Begin in the Indian Market

Zone Startups now has yet another program to expand the startup community in India.

The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development arrived to help announce a new soft landing program for international companies wanting to bring their products and services to the Indian market. The program, affectionately called Gateway91, is run by Zone Startups India, and is their fourth new program after empoWer, Barclays Rise Accelerator, and Thought Factory with Axis Bank.

“All around the world, confident, ambitious countries are investing in their own future,” said Bains. “Formidable energies have led to Zone Startups India’s partnership among Ryerson, Simon Fraser University, and the Bombay Stock Exchange, and the Government of Canada is proud to support this program. This work in the emerging field of financial technology has the potential to turn ideas into marketable solutions.”

The governments of Ontario and Canada will be funding five Canadian Fintech startups to grow and explore the Indian market through the program.

“We’re proud to be a partner with the federal government and Zone Startups India to support the Gateway91 program,” said Michael Chan, Ontario Minister of International Trade. “This initiative will help Canadian Fintech innovators bring their breakthrough concepts and technologies into the Indian market, which will create jobs and economic growth in both regions.”

Gateway91, through Zone Startups India, will offer a plethora of supports these companies new to the Indian market will need, such as a collaborative workspace with other entrepreneurs, connections and networking opportunities with industry leaders, investors, and mentors, and administrative services for starting and securing their businesses.

“Setting up Gateway91 was a natural extension to what we have been doing at Zone Startups India,” says Ajay Ramasubramaniam, director of Zone Startups India. “The ecosystem of mentors, potential partners, and professional service providers needed by international startups to succeed in India is already in place; to date, we have supported 16 companies, helping them with introductions to several potential partners and clients.”

Matt Saunders, president of Zone Startups, added that “through programs like Gateway91, Zone Startups will continue to assist early-stage enterprise software companies as they look to scale in the India market. Our extensive connections and programming continue to attract great founders developing innovative solutions. We’re proud to partner with both the Federal and Ontario governments to give Canadian Fintech startups the opportunity to benefit from our leading services to grow and thrive in India.”

For more information on Gateway91 or to apply to this new program, check out india.zonestartups.com.