WhatsApp on Wednesday announced a tie-up with Invest India to promote Indian startups and said it would organise a startup challenge in the country with the aim to invest in the top five participants of the competition.
"WhatsApp will invest quarter of a million dollars as seed funding to the top 5 winners of the WhatsApp Startup Challenge," an official statement said.
Also, the company would invest an additional $2,50,000 (roughly Rs. 1.8 crores) to a select few firms from the entrepreneurial community to promote their WhatsApp business number on Facebook.
Speaking on the occasion here, Union Minister of Commerce and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu said that the startup community is the future of India and it will be the platform through which "millions of youth of this country will be gainfully employed".
Commenting on the partnership, Deepak Bagla, CEO, Invest India - the national investment promotion and facilitation agency - said: "India adds over three new startups a day, ranking it amongst the top startup nations in the world. Through this partnership with WhatsApp, we aim to support the innovative startups in India and to create solutions not only for India but the entire world."
Chris Daniels, Vice President, WhatsApp said: "We are excited to work closely with Startup India by supporting entrepreneurs and startups to become engines of economic growth."
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