Facebook to boost India efforts to expand start-up ecosystem

Facebook on Tuesday said it aims to boost its efforts to expand the start-up ecosystem in India, reiterating its commitment to widen its support to include technology entrepreneurs in different cities.

"We are committed to paving the way for the success of the new generation of start-ups in India and understand that access to resources, people and networks can be a powerful catalyst for their growth," said Facebook's Satyajeet Singh, the head of Platform Partnerships for India and South Asia.

India is the world's third-largest start-up hub and has one of the fastest growing base of software developers.

"Our initiatives seek to empower India's start-up ecosystem. Be it helping them with the use of emerging technologies like Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, giving women-led start-ups the right channels or supporting companies that are building solutions for social impact," Singh told reporters here.

Hence, the social media giant is creating programmes that can spur the entrepreneurs to build businesses of tomorrow through mentoring, regular training, workshops and meet-ups, Singh said.

Facebook said its first batch of 10 people at the School of Innovation has built its virtual reality ideas into working product prototypes, which will be showcased in 2019.

"So far this year, we have worked closely with over 200 start-ups through our programmes such as India Innovation Hub, SheLeadsTech and Code for the Next Billion," Singh said.

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