India | 3rd December: T-Hub, which leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystemin partnershipwithLa Trobe Universitytoday announcedthat it has selected twogrowth-stage Australianstartupsfor the second stage of Global Market AcceleratorProgram. T-Hubhas forged a strategic partnership with the La Trobe Universitythat will provide the selected startups withaccess to Indian customers, new business opportunities and a deeper understanding of the innovation ecosystemin India.
Global Market AcceleratorProgramis designed help Australian startups grow, launched by La Trobe University in five countries and is funded by AusIndustry, Victoria State Office. AusIndustry is the Australian Government’s principal agency for delivering assistance, programs and services which support industry, research,and innovation. T-Hub was chosen as the program partner for the Indian market access to startups. The program consists of an online ‘feasibility study’ for eight weeks and a six-month incubation in innovation hubs like T-Hub for international experience.
The program for Indian market access started its first phase with the selection of four startups Treiner,TBH Pets,Anidra,andTekumafor the 8-week market feasibility study. These four startups were chosenafter a rigorous evaluation processby subject matter experts from T-Hub and La Trobe University.Theselection criteria included theevaluation of technology, market demand, problem statement andsolution,and the tractionreceived in Australia.
The eight weeks of virtual interventions focused on the market analysis, competitor trends, customer behaviour, legal and compliance, distribution channels and stakeholder identification, road map and soft-landing strategy. These startups committed two-three hours per week for the program which included mentoring sessions on how to localise their productalong with the Go-To-Market sessions to build the operations plan for next six months of second stage. In the fifth week, a mid-review on the startup progress was conducted.
After eight weeks of interventions, a panel of mentors from T-Hub and Australia selected two startupsAnidra and TBH pets for the second phase of the program. In the second phase, T-Hub will executetheaccelerationprogram for six months andthe startups will need to undergo intensivetraining. Itwill provide soft-landing measures such as mentoring, co-working spaceandproduct analysis to adapt the product or solution tothe local market and establish strong connects with the customer and the investment community.
Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub and Chief Innovation Officer, Telangana, said, “Despite the ongoing pandemic, the startups across the globe have not given up on their strategies to expand in other geographies. Interestingly, India is rapidly becoming one of the top picks for international companies to set up shop. Hyderabad is playing a major role in attracting notonly larger brands but also startups to India owing to Telangana state’s reputation on ease of doing business, extended support,and the world-class level of infrastructure. We at T-Hub understand the need and value of smart international innovations and have always been striving to help them settle their business in our country. T-Hub’s partnership with La Trobe is an important milestone in the growing collaboration in innovation between India and Australia, which will only strengthen in the times to come.
”Cerasela Tanasescu, DirectorofLa Trobe Regional Accelerator said, “This is a fantastic program that will enable Australian start-ups to showcase their innovation and capability to an increasing important and exciting market. We are proud to be partnered with T-Hub who can support our Australian Founders as they navigate their way through this innovative accelerator.”
The startups shortlisted are as follows:
| S.No. | Name of the Startup | Description |
| 1. | Treiner  | Treiner is Australia and New Zealand’s premier soccer coaching marketplace service providing players of all skill levels the opportunity to increase their abilities, learn new skills and become better players both on and off the field. Treiner platform provides quality, one-on-one soccer, goalkeeping, small group coaching and many other types of sessions. |
| 2. | TBH Pets  | TBH Pets is a pet nutrition company disrupting the pet food category with environmentally friendly non-animal protein products. The founders are serial entrepreneurs with global experience and backed by pet nutrition experts. |
| 3. | Anidra  | Anidra offers solutions for automatic patient monitoring and primarily focuses on uplifting the healthcare services experience with its innovative methods of monitoring the patients and for facilitating early intervention. |
| 4. | Tekuma  | Tekuma, founded in NSW, has developed the next generation of intuitive hand controller hardware or ‘joysticks’ which uses patented technology and custom firmware to process a user’s tactile hand movements. This enables them to control an object, such as a drone, with one hand. The solution is sturdy, secure, and universal allowing applications across many industries. |
T-Hub has been taking numerous initiatives to help the startups revive their businesses and help them leverage the unique opportunities that the pandemic has presented. For more information about this program, visit https://bit.ly/2Vnx9sG.
