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Education start-ups in India seem to be the hottest targets right now, going by the kind of <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> they are attracting from local and global investors. A couple of days ago, Delhi-based start-up <keyword id="1974964" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Avanti-Learning-Centres">Avanti Learning Centres</keyword> raised an undisclosed amount in <keyword id="948731" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="seed-funding">seed funding</keyword> from <keyword id="1894311" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pearson-Affordable-Learning-Fund">Pearson Affordable Learning Fund</keyword> (<keyword id="1954796" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="PALF">PALF</keyword>). Two more <keyword id="6365770" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="angel-investors">angel investors</keyword> also took part in the round. Avanti will use the <keyword id="1974977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Seed-round">seed round</keyword> to develop an <keyword id="1974975" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Online-offline-learning">online-offline learning</keyword> &amp; monitoring system, create more <keyword id="755302" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="educational-content">educational content</keyword> and build new <keyword id="68244" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Learning-centres">learning centres</keyword>. Currently, the <keyword id="1044076" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="education-start-up">education start-up</keyword> operates stand-alone and in-school centres in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Roorkee and Puducherry, besides helping the <keyword id="3216" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="students">students</keyword> in three Tibetan schools in Uttarakhand and Karnataka. 
 
This is the second investment in India that Pearson has made through PALF, and the third overall since the fund was launched in July 2012. 
 In November this year, <keyword id="1954793" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Global-education-leader">Global education leader</keyword> Pearson’s inaugural <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/These-2-Peer-selected-Start-upsShared-150K-Investment-To-Boost-Low-cost-Education/articleshow/26512179.cms">edupreneur programme</a>, jointly launched by PALF and US-based investor Village Capital, came to a close with <keyword id="1954794" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Experifun">Experifun</keyword> and <keyword id="1467859" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sudiksha-Knowledge-Solutions">Sudiksha Knowledge Solutions</keyword> walking off with a seed funding of $75,000 each. The <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword> will enable the start-ups to further develop their low-cost education ventures and assist underprivileged school children. 
 Pearson launched PALF in July 2012 with a capital of $15 million. Investments are made into private companies that offer <keyword id="1974987" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Affordable-educational-services">affordable educational services</keyword> and schooling in Asia, <keyword id="12925" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Africa">Africa</keyword> and Latin America. 
 Set up as a <keyword id="456748" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="non-profit">non-profit</keyword> in March 2010 by <keyword id="258061" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Akshay-Saxena">Akshay Saxena</keyword> and <keyword id="1974967" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Krishna-Ramkumar">Krishna Ramkumar</keyword>, Avanti Learning Centres supports students from low-income families (those with a family income of $5,000 per annum or below) and prepares them for <keyword id="1974989" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="College-entrance-exams">college entrance exams</keyword>, especially the highly competitive engineering and medical entrance tests. Students can study up to 18 hours a week at a centre and need to pay only $20 per month. Costs are kept low as a large network of volunteers and partners, including universities, public schools, policy makers and private sector businesses, help with teaching and administration. 
 Instead of traditional lectures, Avanti follows a comprehensive programme including <keyword id="1951606" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="book-learning">book learning</keyword>, <keyword id="144248" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Videos">videos</keyword>, <keyword id="1974990" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Peer-learning">peer learning</keyword> (developed by Dr <keyword id="1974994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Eric-Mazur">Eric Mazur</keyword>, the company’s chief academic advisor and a physics professor at <keyword id="53675" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="harvard">Harvard</keyword>), <keyword id="956032" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Self-study">self study</keyword> &amp; <keyword id="969316" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="group-work">group work</keyword>, <keyword id="1974991" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Recorded-lectures">recorded lectures</keyword>, <keyword id="140811" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="mentoring">mentoring</keyword> and doubt-solving. Students are enrolled after a highly selective two-stage process. 
 “It was the commitment from Akshay and Krishna to focus on improving the <keyword id="1974995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Education-of-low-income-communities">education of low-income communities</keyword>, combined with an <keyword id="1974993" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Innovative-learning-model">innovative learning model</keyword>, which was the most attractive aspect of the <keyword id="718769" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="investment-opportunity">investment opportunity</keyword>,” said PALF executive director, <keyword id="1974962" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Katelyn-Donnelly">Katelyn Donnelly</keyword>. 
 “Avanti is particularly exciting because it is a non-traditional pedagogy with very strong initial results. Our investment allows us to partner with a mission-led company to bridge a crucial gap between secondary and <keyword id="6375224" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="higher-education">higher education</keyword> for low-income learners. PALF is enthused to support the Avanti team to successfully grow across India, and we look forward to working with them to deliver on their long-term vision,” she added. 
 Commenting on the funding, Saxena said, “Once we decided that a <keyword id="1975001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="For-profit">for-profit</keyword> model was the best way to reach scale, we knew we would need expert strategic insight and advice. We are incredibly excited to be working with the Pearson Affordable Learning Fund as they bring unrivalled education expertise to the table that can help us achieve our long-term objectives. We look forward to building upon the relationship with Pearson as we improve outcomes for low-income learners in the years to come.” 
 
Recent fundraising by education start-ups 
uFaber: Mumbai-based <keyword id="1975002" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="uFaber-Edutech">uFaber Edutech</keyword> (http://www.ufaber.com/), which runs an <keyword id="1975003" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Online-education-marketplace">online education marketplace</keyword> for <keyword id="1975006" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Professional-skill-development">professional skill development</keyword>, hobbies, crafts, academics and vocational training, got Rs 37 lakh from <keyword id="1975007" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ah-Seeders">Ah! Seeders</keyword>, the seed funding network of <keyword id="1975008" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Club-Ah">Club Ah!</keyword> It is the network’s maiden investment in India after its launch in the country. Ah! Seeders puts its money into very early stage companies and typically invests in the range of Rs 25-50 lakh. 
 
<keyword id="1573710" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Meritnation">Meritnation</keyword>: Delhi-based <keyword id="1962741" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Applect-Learning-Systems">Applect Learning Systems</keyword>, which runs the online education and assessment site Meritnation.com (http://www.meritnation.com/), secured Rs 10 crore from <keyword id="80004" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Info-Edge">Info Edge</keyword> (India) Ltd, the biggest consumer Internet company in India by market value. With this fresh round, Info Edge has put in a total of Rs 71.5 crore and holds around 55.81% stake in Applect (on a fully diluted and converted basis). 
 
<keyword id="900714" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="InOpen-Technologies">InOpen Technologies</keyword>: Mumbai-based InOpen Technologies (http://inopen.in/), a start-up developing educational content and <keyword id="1975016" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Teachers-training-solutions">teacher’s training solutions</keyword>, received an undisclosed sum in Series A from <keyword id="1975017" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Japanese-education-firm">Japanese education firm</keyword> Benesse Holdings, Inc. In August 2011, the company raised $500,000 in seed funding from <keyword id="1975018" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ventureast-Tenet-Fund-II">Ventureast Tenet Fund II</keyword>. 
 
MangoSense: The Pune-based edutainment start-up (http://mangosense.com/) got an undisclosed amount from <keyword id="164924" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mumbai-Angels">Mumbai Angels</keyword>. Its products include <keyword id="1975022" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="MangoReader">MangoReader</keyword>, <keyword id="1975023" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="MangoReach">MangoReach</keyword> and <keyword id="1975025" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="MangoSocial">MangoSocial</keyword>, through which users can create a fun and social environment for reading books and sharing them with friends. 
 
<keyword id="1975033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="K2-Learning">K2 Learning</keyword>: Bangalore-based hybrid (online-offline) start-up K2 (http://k2learning.in/) secured Rs 8 crore in angel funding from <keyword id="244269" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Radheshyam-Agarwal">Radheshyam Agarwal</keyword>, founder and director of <keyword id="1975034" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Calcutta-Tube-India">Calcutta Tube India</keyword>. The start-up specialises in <keyword id="1975035" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Commerce-content">commerce content</keyword> and plans to set up <keyword id="1974968" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Tab-Labs">Tab Labs</keyword> in more than 100 <keyword id="37181" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="colleges">colleges</keyword> that will get special tablets with <keyword id="1975036" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pre-loaded-commerce-data">pre-loaded commerce data</keyword>. 
 
<keyword id="1309724" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Simplilearn">Simplilearn</keyword>: Bangalore-based <keyword id="1974963" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Simplilearn-Solutions">Simplilearn Solutions</keyword> (www.Simplilearn.com), a company offering <keyword id="1309739" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="professional-certification-courses">professional certification courses</keyword> online, secured $10 million in <keyword id="1095983" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Series-B-funding">Series B funding</keyword> from <keyword id="309606" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Helion-Venture-Partners">Helion Venture Partners</keyword> and existing investor <keyword id="1397792" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kalaari-Capital">Kalaari Capital</keyword>.

Another Education Start-up From India Gets Seed
Round From Pearson Affordable Learning Fund

<ul><li><keyword id="6630114" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="unacademy">Unacademy</keyword> has raised $50 million in a series D round of funding. </li><li>The startup has investors like Steadview Capital, Sequoia India, Nexus Venture Partners and Blume Ventures.</li><li>The Indian <keyword id="6379645" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Online-Education">online education</keyword> space has players like Byju’s which has also reported profitability.</li></ul>Indian online education startup Unacademy has raised $50 million in a series D round of funding from investors like Steadview Capital, Sequoia India, Nexus Venture Partners and Blume Ventures. The investment, which will go towards bringing on board more educators and better the product, also saw the founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini participate in the round. “In the last few months, we have taken bigger strides toward achieving this mission. We have more than 400 top educators from across the country taking live classes every day on Unacademy Plus. This is available to every student, irrespective of their location,” said Munjal. Unacademy plus is the startup’s subscription plan which has more than 50,000 learners. The startup, which was founded in 2015, has over 13 million learners. “We are seeing unprecedented growth and engagement from learners in smaller towns and cities, and are also very humbled to see that top-quality educators are choosing Unacademy as their primary platform to reach out to students,” said Munjal. This also shows the growth trajectory of Indian online education space. Online education industry in India is expected to hit 9.6 million by 2021 user base, which was 1.6 million in 2016, as per a KPMG report. In fact, a survey by education startup GradeUp also shows that students are counting on online teaching for competitive exams — JEE, NEET, GATE, SSC and banking exams. Meanwhile, the big player in Indian <keyword id="1974983" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Edutech">edutech</keyword> space remains Byju’s – which had recently reported profitability with an increase in the number of paid users. Its revenue has tripled to reach ₹14.3 billion in the financial year ending March 2019, though it has not shared the net profit numbers. This volume of numbers has also brought in the renewed interest of investors, who are betting on the Indian education technology space. Interestingly, Sequoia is a common investor between Byju’s and Unacademy. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-students-prefer-online-coaching-for-jee-neet-gate-ssc-and-banking-exams/articleshow/69956565.cms">Indian students prefer online coaching to offline classes</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mukesh-ambani-reliance-jio-and-byju-feature-in-meeker-report/articleshow/69770325.cms">Mukesh Ambani’s Jio and a startup Byju's are in global spotlight as India’s internet users exceed that of US</a>

Unacademy raises $50 million as Byju’s success draws top dollars into online education in India

<keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword>’s mobile-focused startup programme, which began an year back and backs startups with funding and mentorship, just gave credits and services to Singapore-based education technology startup <keyword id="3734316" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="JobSenz">JobSenz</keyword>, which has its presence in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. 
 As part of <keyword id="2431804" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="fbSTART">FbStart</keyword>, JobSenz received nearly $40,000 as credits and administrations from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Facebook&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Facebook</a> and its accomplices. Besides the funding, JobSenz will also be mentored by an engineering team. 
 JobSenz, which considers India as its essential market, has entered FbStart’s list that already has <keyword id="1017386" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coursera">Coursera</keyword>, <keyword id="944108" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Stripe">Stripe</keyword>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Dropbox&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Dropbox</a> and <keyword id="1737288" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twilio">Twilio</keyword> in it. 
 
The mobile application JobSenz was founded by Monish Karam an year back. The startup brings coaching centres and educators on a platform where they can sell their study material directly to students and professionals. 
 
The JobSenz app permits job seekers to hunt down and discover opportunities through its job search engine and get ready and download their resume utilizing a multi-lingual resume builder. 
 
"Not all coaching centers across India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh can have their own mobile app or web app to provide live coaching materials to their students. This creates a level playing field across all educators and coaching centers across these three countries, while also serving as a new revenue stream for them," Karam told ET. 
 
As per Karam, the startup's revenue model incorporates charging a percentage of all sales of premium educational content by coaching centers on its mobile platform. "Apart from advertising, we are focusing on job and resume service for additional revenue sources," Karam told ET. 
 Facebook, earlier this year reportedly, distributed over $21 million worth benefits to startup in India and about $ 50 million to startups in Asia. Its first accusation was also in India. It acquired Little Eye Labs which makes a software tool for analyzing the performance of <keyword id="6355645" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="android">Android</keyword> apps, for reportedly $10-$15 million in 2014. 
(image: Indiatimes)

Facebook’s FbStart has invested in a Singapore-based ed-tech startup that counts India as critical market

In a recently released entrepreneurial study by <keyword id="10875" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IBM">IBM</keyword> to understand the rapidly evolving India <keyword id="1973995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startup-ecosystem">startup ecosystem</keyword> and its effects on the wider economy, the results reveal that <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> can exploit a range of attributes and advantages unique to India. More than 76% of Indian executives pointed to India’s economic openness as a major business advantage, while 60% identified India’s skilled workforce and 57% of the executives said that India’s large domestic market provides significant advantages. The study further focuses on how more proactive engagement between startup and established organizations can help startups harden their business models, accelerate growth and leapfrog into the big leagues, while enabling established companies to share in the entrepreneurial spirit of <keyword id="94495" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Innovation">innovation</keyword> and agility. Their mutual success will drive India toward an ever-more dynamic future. “Startups are redefining the Indian economy by being the catalysts for technology innovation and collaboration. The Indian startup community; ranked third globally in terms of number of startups has been creating new job opportunities and attracting capital investment. We believe that startups need to focus on societal problems like healthcare, sanitation, education, transportation, alternate energy management and others, which would help deal with the issues that India and the world face. These require investments in deep technology and products which are built to scale globally”, said Nipun Mehrotra, Chief Digital Officer, IBM India/South Asia. He further added, “At IBM, we work closely with startups, VCs, incubators, academia, and individual developers to foster a culture of innovation and disruption and provide access to deep technology such as cognitive, blockchain, cloud and other emerging technologies, as well as the business mentoring needed for their growth.” Startup activity is driving India’s emerging business ecosystems India’s startup community is expanding rapidly with a strong entrepreneurial culture, especially among millennials. Strong government promotion of entrepreneurship has strengthened a rapidly evolving startup culture – a proposed reduction in corporate tax from 30% to 25% is expected to further boost startup activity. The study further stated that market valuation of Indian startups has grown significantly over the past four years, with three times increase in startup investment recorded in 2015. According to the study, approximately 35% of startups are being set up in tier two and tier three cities, thereby promoting accelerated development and industrialization of rural and other less developed areas. Top roadblocks for India’s startups Despite India’s entrepreneurial strength, the startup economy still has not reached full maturity and more than 90% of startups fail within the first five years. 1) Lack of innovation: 77% of venture capitalists surveyed believe that many Indian startups lack pioneering innovation based on new technologies or unique business models. Indian startups are prone to emulate already successful global ideas. 2) Lack of skilled workforce: 70% of the venture capitalists believe that talent acquisition is one of the biggest challenges faced by Indian startups, and limited availability of necessary skills impedes growth. As per a study, 80% of engineering graduates in India are deemed unemployable and 48% of employers in India face difficulty in filling vacancies. 3) Lack of sufficient funding: Indian startups face funding roadblocks both at entry and exit stages while successful global startup ecosystems are well supported by active investor communities. 65% of venture capitalists revealed that funding is one of the major challenges for these companies. 4) Other roadblocks include inadequate formal mentoring, poor business ethics and lack of experienced leadership. Stakeholder engagement key to derive significant benefits in startup ecosystems Ecosystems are crucial for India’s entrepreneurial economy to thrive. The IBV study also outlines the importance of stakeholders’ involvement, along with offering recommendations designed to increase the value of their contributions and accelerate outcomes. Established companies, startups, venture capitalists, government and higher education institutions have significant roles to play and rewards to reap in fostering further development of India’s startup economy. A robust startup community improves the vitality of the Indian economy and provides a gateway to systemic economic transformation. The formation of ecosystems in which established companies, startups, venture capitalists, government and centers of higher education are able to engage and interact can empower India to consolidate its place as a leader in the global economy. (The IBM study, “Entrepreneurial India” is based on interviews with more than 1,300 Indian executives, including 600 startup entrepreneurs, 100 venture capitalists, 100 government leaders, 500 leaders of established companies and 22 educational institution leaders to analyze the macro impact of startups on the economic growth of the country.)

Here's why 90% startups in India are failing in their first five years

<ul><li>The education and skilling ecosystem will accelerate job creation and put India on the fast-track to greater economic growth. </li><li>TiE Delhi-NCR is hosting the 6th Annual <keyword id="8020615" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Education-Entrepreneurship-Day">India Education Entrepreneurship Day</keyword> (IEED) on 30th August, 2019.</li><li>The event will see entrepreneurs, mentors and influencers all under one roof.</li></ul>The Indian education and skilling ecosystem has a huge role to play in accelerating India’s aim to be a $5 trillion economy by 2025. This will further accelerate job creation and put India on the fast-track to greater economic growth. In light of the same, TiE Delhi-NCR is hosting the 6th Annual <keyword id="1020702" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-education">India Education</keyword> Entrepreneurship Day (IEED) on 30th August, 2019. IEED is a leadership conference that looks at setting conversations around Vision 2025 for the industry. With an audience of 300+, #IEED brings together the brightest minds of the country with ideas focused on a wide range of subjects. It aims at initiating conversations that matter to the education and skilling sector, and have the power to foster learning and inspiration. From busting myths on the jobs ecosystem to evaluating the role of tech platforms in transforming the jobs ecosystem, the event will see participation from key industry leaders. The event will also give a platform to <keyword id="1974983" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Edutech">edutech</keyword> <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword> to network and build more business opportunities. “The education sector has the potential to steer a country into a prosperous, tech-enabled future. Recognizing its importance, multiple new-age educational startups are cropping up across the country. Yet, there is a lack of cohesion in terms of quality and clear business models to sustain in the ever-changing environment. IEED will present these startups with a platform where they can exchange new ideas and gain a wider perspective about the flourishing education sector. We believe that creating an enabling environment for startups in the education sector through this platform will go a long way in preparing them amply for the future,” said Geetika Dayal, Executive Director – TiE Delhi-NCR. The event will see entrepreneurs, mentors and influencers like Vineet Kaul (VP, Paytm Education), Sandeep Sinha (Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Lumis Partners), Akshay Chaturvedi (Founder, Leverage Edu), Ayush Jaiswal (Co-Founder, Pesto), Charu Noheria (Co-Founder, 3RDFlix), Jairaj Bhattacharya (Founder, ConveGenius) and Kinner Sacchdev (Co-Founder, Knorish), among others.

Education has a big role to play in India’s $5 trillion economy dream

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Google">Google</a> CEO <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Sundar+Pichai">Sundar Pichai</a> held a town-hall at Delhi University's Shri Ram College of Commerce on Thursday. 
 
While the interaction had <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Sundar+Pichai">Pichai</a> joking about self-drive cars in Delhi and naming Android N on Indian sweets, it also offered a rare glimpse into the quiet man’s mind. 
 
For one we know he follows Cricket and Football, and owns around 20-30 smartphones. When asked what he’d be if not the CEO of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Google">Google</a> he said, “I’d still be building software. I love building products at the end of the day.” 
 
However, while big words like ‘Machine learning’ and ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and ‘Augmented Reality’ were thrown around, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Sundar+Pichai">Pichai</a> offered his views about India’s education system and the <keyword id="138263" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="startup">startup</keyword> boom. 
 
Here is what <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Sundar+Pichai">Sundar Pichai</a> said on India’s startups, education and youth: 
 
Startup Boom: 
“I’ve been waiting to see this change in India. It was only when I came last year that I felt very viscerally that the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=startup">startup</a> culture has really taken hold here…” 
 
“…You’ve a large domestic market to tackle. That’ll give you the confidence to tackle not only the domestic market but global problems as well.” 
 
India’s Education System: 
“Among the things needed to solve problems, creativity is an important attribute. Encourage more creativity through the educational system. Today our educational system values rigorous academic knowledge over being more creative.” 
 
What we can do: “Allowing a lot more creativity. Allow learning by doing things by hand and project based experiential learning. Make sure the system doesn’t penalize if you take risks.” 
 
Youth: 
“At some point of time in your careers you’ll have to work with people where you feel insecure. That means you’re working with people better than you and pushing yourself. If you feel secure with what you do, you’re comfortable, you’re not pushing yourself.” 
 
India as Silicon Valley of the East: 
“…There is nothing we’ll have to change intrinsically. There are probably a set of structural reasons that this has not happened yet. A big part of it is startups and risk-taking. India historically has had a much more professional culture than a culture of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=entrepreneurs">entrepreneurial</a> approach.” 
 
“…<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=entrepreneurs">Entrepreneurs </a>here seem no different to me than the people I meet in the Valley. India can do the same kind of things.” 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Google
CEO Sundar Pichai on India’s Startups, Education and Youth #Ask Sundar

Have you ever come across an <keyword id="71310" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="accelerator">accelerator</keyword> programme in India where start-ups are voted by their peers to decide who gets the pre-committed <keyword id="1396410" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="seed-money">seed money</keyword>? That’s exactly what is going to happen at global education leader Pearson’s inaugural <keyword id="1894314" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Edupreneur">edupreneur</keyword> programme, jointly launched by its Affordable Learning Fund (PALF) and <keyword id="1693490" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Village-Capital">Village Capital</keyword>, an organisation that supports mission-driven entrepreneurs around the world. The <keyword id="1894311" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Pearson-Affordable-Learning-Fund">Pearson Affordable Learning Fund</keyword>, set up last year, invests in low-cost private schools and other affordable educational solutions. 
 
The programme, which has started a couple of weeks ago, has shortlisted 15 educational start-ups that leverage innovative technologies to develop affordable learning solutions for the bottom-of-the-pyramid segment. 
 
After a rigorous initial screening, the final 15 have been chosen out of 125 applicants from all over India. The selected start-ups are now going through Village Capital’s globally recognised curriculum spanning 12 weeks. There will be adequate mentoring, in-person workshops and regular webinars throughout this period and two start-ups will be finally selected through peer reviews to share a cash investment of $150,000 from PALF and Village Capital. 
 The <keyword id="1894317" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="peer-review">peer review</keyword> part is the most intriguing characteristic of this programme as potential competitors evaluate each other on specific parameters and vote for the most suitable candidates. At each workshop, each team pitches to its fellow-edupreneurs, who rank one another’s performance against six criteria necessary for successful scaling. These include customer validation, team strength, product quality, scaling &amp; impact, financial model and exit strategy. However, one cannot rank oneself and all rankings are done publicly. Also, the top and bottom rankings for each company are discarded to reduce the influence of outliers. 
 Once the ranking is done, the top two teams will receive $75,000 of seed <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> each on the Investors’ Demo Day. There will be the traditional connect with the investors as well – so that start-ups can raise funding as per their requirements. 
 
Commenting on the programme, Ranu Kawatra, CEO and president of Pearson Education India, said in a blog post, “With millions of children still out of school in India, it is need of the hour to make quality schooling accessible and affordable for underprivileged children. Edupreneurs seeks to reduce the gap by partnering with entrepreneurs who have the skill and passion for improving access to quality education in poorer communities.” 
 
Here are some of the Final 15 firms who made the cut. Watch this space as we bring you more information on leading edupreneurs of India. 
 
<keyword id="1894319" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="40K-Plus-Education">40K Plus Education</keyword> 
<keyword id="1894320" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Callystro-Infotech">Callystro Infotech</keyword> 
<keyword id="1744639" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Edwell-Solutions">EdWell Solutions</keyword> 
<keyword id="1894321" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Effect-International">Effect International</keyword> 
<keyword id="1894323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Experifun-Learning-Solutions">Experifun Learning Solutions</keyword> 
<keyword id="1894325" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Magic-Pathshala">Magic Pathshala</keyword> 
<keyword id="1894327" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="MangoSense">MangoSense</keyword> 
<keyword id="1894328" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sage-Services">Sage Services</keyword> 
<keyword id="1894330" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Scholowiz-Educational-Solutions">Scholowiz Educational Solutions</keyword> 
<keyword id="1894333" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="SEED-Edu-Corp">SEED Edu Corp</keyword> 
<keyword id="1467859" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sudiksha-Knowledge-Solutions">Sudiksha Knowledge Solutions</keyword> 
<keyword id="1894334" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="RMinds-Education">RMinds Education</keyword> 
<keyword id="1894335" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="TeachersLikeMe">TeachersLikeMe</keyword> 
<keyword id="1894336" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Teer-Designs">Teer Designs</keyword>

Are You An Edupreneur? Here’s How Peer Review Can Earn
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Few more hours to the launch of the most anticipated initiative of the booming start-up industry in India, “Startup India, Standup India”. While rumours are ripe that a new roadmap would be launched at the event, start-ups are expecting a lot more than a roadmap. 
 
“It should create a startup environment in the country with the proper structures in place,” said Anisha Singh, cofounder of mydala. 
 <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> has a lot to live up to tomorrow. Starting from legal compliances to changes in academic curriculum to encourage <keyword id="107737" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship">entrepreneurship</keyword>, start-ups have come up with the most innovative measures which could lead to tremendous growth of the industry. 
 
India is witnessing the rise of varied genres of start-ups, from food start-ups to tech start-ups to ecommerce to health start-ups. Here’s a look at the expectations of each sector before the D-day. 
 
Tech start-ups 
 
Here’s what tech start-up Cube 26’s expectations from the initiative. 
 
1. Lower rate of interest on loans for <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Startups">Startups</keyword> - In order to help startups sustain till the time startups are able to raise investments, the government should set a slightly lower rate of interest to promote and sustain more entrepreneurs. 
 
2. Tax exemptions for entrepreneurs - Government should provide 1-3 years of tax and compliance holiday for startups under the ‘Start Up India’ initiative 
 
3. Involvement of startups in Government projects - Usually the size and turnaround time of government projects is higher as compared to private companies. Also, being in a dynamic environment, it’s difficult for startups to sustain themselves after investing in government projects till the time payment turnaround happens. So, in order to provide them exposure to big projects, government should come out with flexible opportunities for startups to allow them to help with their technology or consultancy expertise in certain use cases. 
 
4. Make in India in hardware - The hardware ecosystem in India is quite weak at the moment owing to higher prices of manufacturing and lack of skills. The government should work in tandem with manufacturers as well as institutes to develop skills on both the fronts. 
 
Education startups 
 
Vedantu, an online tutoring portal expects. 
 “Ed-Tech sector holds huge promise to personalize and democratize education. It would be very encouraging for entrepreneurs in the Ed-Tech and the larger education space to get additional support given that it’s a critical sector for our long-term economic growth, social progress and if India has to reap the demographic dividend. Special <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> provisions within the start-up fund pool created by the government and incentives for entrepreneurs keen to enter this sector would go a long way,” said Vamsi Krishna, CEO &amp; Co-founder, Vedantu. 
 
“Visibility into the roadmap of rolling out of digital initiatives with faster implementation cycles will bring predictability and help Ed-Tech startups plan and scale better. LIVE online Learning on mobile devices would act as the gateway to unlimited knowledge and learning wherein teachers from top cities would be able to deliver LIVE Lectures to students in remote villages and guide them to do better. Access to top quality global content would truly present equal opportunity of learning,” he added. 
 
Some niche startups 
 
Ankita Tandon, Chief Operating Officer, CouponDunia said, “Through the 'Start Up India, Stand Up India' initiative, we expect our government to simplify all these processes and make it easier for the start-up community to not only set up but also scale up their business. Our Government should also encourage micro-entrepreneurship by investing and dedicating an exclusive fund for entrepreneurs apart from the one’s provided by the VCs and angel investors. Furthermore, the government should address the challenges faced by start-up companies and set up proper compliance and redressal forums for addressing these issues. Any start is a good start.” 
 
Styletag founder, Sanjay Shroff wants specialised options for niche start-ups. 
 
 News App startup 
 
Deepit Purkayastha, Co-Founder &amp; Chief Strategy Officer, Inshorts talks about his expectations. 
 
1. Take measures for building a vibrant Students Entrepreneurship ecosystem - Government should work towards building a vibrant startup ecosystem in colleges. This could be done by firstly including Entrepreneurship as a course at School level, secondly designing core and optional curriculums on Entrepreneurship at College level, thirdly by providing Students the liberty to be able to startup in college and complete their degrees later if requested (nothing will make students more employable than having started their own venture) and finally, by enhancing the startup-academia interaction across the board in technical as well as non-technical universities. 
 
2. Include more contemporary and startups relevant skills in the college curriculum - A lot of new skills which Startups need in prospective recruits viz. Product Management, App Development, Content Marketing, UI/UX Management etc are not being imparted in the formal education system. The government should work towards either inclusion of these modules in the current educational curriculum or make it easier for private players to impart these modules as complimentary courses with the existing degrees. If we need India to become a Startup nation, we need resources that are employable and productive for startups right after college. 
 
Tourism startup 
 
RoomsTonite CPO, Karthick highlights some key measures which he would like to see being introduced tomorrow. 
 
1. Government should allocate at least $500mn every six months. 
 
2. Measures should be taken to develop the infrastructure. 
 
3. I would really appreciate it if there’s a Ministry of start-ups. 
 
Personal assistant startup 
 
Suman Howlader, CEO and Founder of Carzippi wants a central unified policy framework across India for budding entrepreneurs. 
 
<keyword id="6354553" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="real-estate">Real Estate</keyword> startup 
 
Zenify cofounder, Sudarshan wants an environment where there are good mentors to mentor. 
 
Fashion startup 
 
Mirraw said as part of the initiative, Government should look into easing the process of starting a business by making the entire process technology based. 
 
Health startup 
 
“We believe that, in order to encourage young blood to join the entrepreneurship bandwagon, all the government needs to do is, take steps to boost the confidence by improving faith in the system. This can be achieved mainly through transparent legal processes in the form of a checklist that an entrepreneur needs to follow in order to setup and start making money. Of course, it is very important that the costs involved for the same should be such that the poor in the country can afford. Even if the government managed to encourage youngsters to start a business, it becomes equally important to support them grow, for which, a "simple to follow" and “affordable" tax regime would make a huge difference,” said Anurav Rane - CEO of PlanMyMedicalTrip.com. 
 
Logistics startup 
 
Brijesh Agrawal, Founder &amp; CEO, Tolexo.com wants the following: 
 
1. The govt. establishes conducive &amp; clear policy frameworks 
 
2. Open up government projects for participation by Startups 
 
3. Build Startup Hubs / Cities - having infrastructure that helps innovate, attract global talent 
 
Will Modi address all these? We will see it tomorrow. 
 
(Image credits: indiatimes)

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