This pandemic episode has brought about a major disruption to how the economy functions. Various businesses were affected and recovery is going to be a long-drawn-out battle. But during this recovery period, many foreign investors are eyeing the Indian market for its untapped potential.
Antler, an early-stage venture capital firm that works at the global level, is planning on setting shop in India and has the objective of seeing at least 150 new startups under their wing in 4 years. Their global reach and finances can assist new entrepreneurs to reach far and wide.
Urban Ladder co-founder Rajiv Shastra will be heading the operations which will begin in Bengaluru. He is joining in as a partner. After its commencement, they plan on investing in at least 40 companies and have set aside funds that are dedicated to the Indian market. They plan on reaching out to other major cities in the coming 3 to 5 years.
In the second half of 2020, the inauguration of the Indian program will be held in Bangalore. 6 months split into 2 phases is how the Antler Program will run. In phase-1, a team of highly skilled and dedicated cofounders that can cooperate well is formed, this phase will last for 10 weeks and the best performing teams will get investments for Antler. This team will be promoted to phase 2 scheme of things where their task is to build and scale up the business.
“We see a huge untapped entrepreneurial protentional in the Indian market and want to involve these particular individuals to have access to run a start-up. India is en route to be the 3rd largest economy valued at USD 5 trillion in the coming 5 years. So, Antler wants to assist these next generation of startups access to its global reach and expertise and help them flourish.” As said by the CEO of Antler, Magnus Grimeland.
This process alone can potentially groom the selected candidates to become the leaders of tomorrow. They will have exposure to the international market as well as expertise and can slowly progress into handling much harder tasks.
Antler is considered to be one of the world’s largest early-stage investment VC, having invested in over 160 companies to date.
