NASSCOM’s flagship startup program, launched in 2013, aims to incubate and scale 10,000 technology startups by 2023. The industry body NASSCOM created 10,000 Startups to catalyse entrepreneurship across India’s tech ecosystem. It partners with state governments, universities and corporates to provide co-working “Startup Warehouses” (in cities like Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai) along with mentorship, training and investor access. The program’s mission is to “foster entrepreneurship, build entrepreneurial capabilities at scale and strengthen early stage support for tech startups”.
Early on, NASSCOM organised extensive outreach events. According to NASSCOM’s press release, by 2014, the program had conducted ~600 workshops and pitches in 25 cities, drawing about 30,000 attendees and 11,000 startup applications. Selected startups joined intensive Bootcamps (called “Startup Konnect”) and received a Startup Kit of credits and services worth ~$25K from partners like Google, Microsoft, AWS, and Kotak. Senior Director Rajat Tandon notes that the program quickly built “the support of 150 volunteer mentors, industry specialists, angel investors and VCs, as well as a startup alumni network like no other”. In his words, “through its phase, the 10,000 Start-ups program has been able to carve out many success stories across domains”.
How it helps startups: The initiative offers early-stage founders access to co-working space (low-cost “warehouses”), mentoring in business strategy and tech, and exposure to customers and funders. NASSCOM 10K regularly hosts pitch events, hackathons and demo days. It has launched vertical programs (e.g. for fintech, AI, retail tech) and run country-wide bootcamps. Alumni gain entry to an extensive alumni network and continued coaching. For example, after NASSCOM’s Startup Kit events, many startups secure follow-on funding or partnerships. (The program itself does not directly invest equity, but it connects founders to angel and VC networks.)
By 2020, the program reported supporting hundreds of startups. Though official tallies are not public, NASSCOM claims to have shortlisted thousands of ventures in its cohorts. Many program alumni have raised significant capital. For instance, mobile-payments startup Paysense (later a Unicommerce spinout) participated in NASSCOM events and went on to raise funding. Health tech startup Polaris and SaaS firm Powerit also cite NASSCOM 10K as early mentors. (Anecdotally, co-founders mention that NASSCOM’s network helped them refine pitches and meet investors.)
Impact and scale: The 10,000 Startups initiative has grown into a pan-India mentor and infrastructure network. It now works with dozens of state governments (Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, etc.), universities and tech parks. NASSCOM reports partnerships with Google for Entrepreneurs, AWS, IBM, Kotak and others. Although exact current figures are not public, early reports noted ~1,100 startups shortlisted by 2014 and thousands more in later cohorts. The program tracks metrics like “impacts” (startups accelerated) and has built a database of alumni. One recent report said NASSCOM 10K events continue to connect startups with investors – for example, in mid-2020, it ran a Japan-India VC Connect program showcasing ~20 startups.
Founders credit NASSCOM 10,000 Startups with sparking critical early growth. “Startups are the lifeblood of our economy,” says NASSCOM’s Rajat Tandon, and the initiative reflects that belief. Its focus on bootstrapping, mentorship and ecosystem building has nurtured India’s tech talent. By offering infrastructure (startup warehouses) and intensive guidance, the program has helped hundreds of young companies survive the valley of death and scale up. As one NASSCOM mentor noted, the initiative provides “a pathway to connect and access the funding and support our startups need to succeed.”With government and corporate backing, NASSCOM 10,000 Startups continues to fuel India’s entrepreneurial aspirations toward its 10K goal.