Three startups have emerged from PayPal’s startup incubator launched in Chennai, India, in 2013, marking the first class of seed-stage innovators to do so. One of the startups that found its footing in the incubator, Start Tank, is a B2B eCommerce firm.
Kobster.com is a B2B eCommerce platform that allows procurement officials to go online to purchase office supplies for their companies at wholesale prices and in bulk quantity. The other two startups emerging from Start Tank include data analytics platform Fantain, which provides Big Data insight into aggregated fan data, as well as DoPartTime, a marketplace that connects part-time employees to employers.
“As one of the world’s largest startups, we at PayPal are proud to see the graduating startups benefit from our mentorship and expand their teams and businesses while at Start Tank,” said PayPal’s General Manager of Technology, Asia Pacific, Anupam Pahuja.
According to reports, PayPal provided facilities, infrastructure and technology support for the startups, not-for-profit firm The Indus Entrepreneurs’ Chennai operations offered mentorship to the companies while they participated in Start Tank.
Late last year, PayPal revealed the launch of its latest Start Tank location in India, this time based in Bengaluru. At its Chennai location, PayPal has more recently chosen just two startups out of 11 applicants to enter into the newest round at Start Tank.
PayPal isn’t the only company to recognize the potential in India’s startups, however. Experts estimate the nation’s SME market to be worth $370 million, while startups are catching the attention of venture capitalists and major technology players like Microsoft and Intuit.
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