Lodha Group and Zone Startups India launches Palava Accelerator

September 14, 2017

Mumbai, September 14, 2017 -Lodha Group,in association with Zone Startups India (ZSI), the accelerator operated by Toronto-based Ryerson Futures, launched a unique program 'Palava Accelerator' today. This program will provide a test-bed to emerging technology startups to conduct their pilots at Palava, India's first privately-developed greenfield smart city located in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). 30 startups will be identified every year through an application process. Interested startups can apply at www.palavaaccelerator.com

Under the partnership with Zone Startups India, selected startups will go through a 4-month acceleration program, where they will be provided with a dedicated space at Palava to work, get mentorship from ZSI and its wide network, opportunities to conduct pilots, network and raise funds, along with other professional services support (accounting, legal, taxation and more). Lodha Group will be investing in Palava Accelerator from its flagship Startup Investment Fund for Real Estate and Smart Cities which has an initial corpus of Rs. 50 crore.

The Palava Accelerator aims to work with 30 startups in a year, on a non-cohort based model, of which 8 to 10 would work out of Palava's center at any given time. It will announce the first set of companies in mid-November that will be accepted into the accelerator.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shaishav Dharia, Regional CEO, LodhaGroup said- "We are glad to partner with Zone Startups India which will allow us support the spirit of entrepreneurship among startups. Palava Accelerator will aim at invigorating economic growth of Palava, bringing the first set of jobs within the city thereby making walk-to-work a realty for the citizens of Palava. Through the program, Palava would provide entrepreneurs an opportunity to work in the city and with the city management body, provide mentorship with reputed mentors in these fields, provide access to investors and a stimulating environment to work in. We are hopeful that this initiative will encourage startups to create disruptive ideas, technologies for the real estate sector and take government's smart city mission a notch higher."

Mr.Ajay Ramasubramaniam, Director (India), Zone Startups added- "Partnering with Lodha Group on the Palava Accelerator is an exciting opportunity for us. It helps us expand our corporate accelerator and innovation work in India beyond FinTech, and further strengthens our presence within the Indian startup ecosystem. We strongly believe that a thriving startup hub helps build cities ground-up, as we have seen globally. More so, such a program, co-located with a growing, new-age city, acts as a solid test bed for numerous consumer tech startups. We're looking forward to collaborating with Lodha Group, on making the Palava Accelerator a benchmark success story, of how entrepreneurship can help build a sustainable city."

Palava, India's fastest growing greenfield smart city, has partnered with the best from around the world including GE, IBM, Sun Edison, Philips and many other majors to create a smart and sustainable development. As a result, Palava cancater to the infrastructure prerequisites for startups to not only to run pilot programs but also, work concurrently with the city administration to decipher successful application of the technology in presence of an existing population.

Zone Startups India, a proficient player in the accelerator industry will be organizing its 6th accelerator program in India with Palava in a short span of 3 years. Other programs set up during this period include, ZSI, empoWer, Gateway91, Rise Accelerator and Thought Factory Accelerator. Under the agreement, Zone Startups will manage the Palava Accelerator program, as well as lend its program expertise in building an ecosystem of partnerships, nurturing developer talent, conducting bootcamps and workshops, and build out a strong entrepreneurial hub in the region, and adjoining Palava.

About Palava

Palava, a 4500-acre development located in Kalyan Dombivli, Mumbai is India's first greenfield smart city being developed and managed by Lodha Group. It has been ranked as the No.1 emerging city of India by Jones Lang LaSalle's (JLL) proprietary research report "Livability Quotient - A Paradigm Shift in India's Emerging Cities". Palava was envisaged to be amongst the 50 most livable cities in the world by 2025. In just 7 years since its inception, Palava is already home to over 29,000 families and has become the fastest city 'startup' in the world's history. Best from around the world including GE, IBM, Sun Edison, Philips and many other majors are working together to create a smart and sustainable Palava.

About Lodha Group

Established in 1980, privately held Lodha Group is India's leading real estate developer and amongst the world's select multinational real estate developers with presence in India and the United Kingdom. The company is the largest in India by sales for five consecutive years, having clocked over INR 8,200 Cr of net sales for FY 16-17. It is currently developing world-class projects such as Lodha Altamount, The World Towers, Trump Tower Mumbai, One Grosvenor Square, Palava among other landmarks. Lodha Group has the largest land reserves in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and has 26 ongoing projects across London, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune and Hyderabad. In FY 2016-17, Lodha Group spent Rs. 3,700 crore on construction, delivering over 7,200 units across projects.

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