Blockchain incubator set up in India to boost tech startups

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The Telangana state in India is setting up a blockchain incubator to provide support for blockchain startups.

The project, called T-Block Accelerator, was set up by the Telangana state government in collaboration with the Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)-Hyderabad and the Indian School of Business (ISB).

Rama Devi, officer on special duty (OSD) for the ITE&C department, said the state is keen to support startups working in the space of blockchain. She was quoted by the Times of India saying, “For this purpose, we are soon going to set up multiple incubators in IIIT-H and ISB. These incubators will be physical spaces that will provide the startup’s access to relevant tech support and mentorship.”

The T-Block Accelerator is a four-month program that the government has launched with the assistance of organizations like Tech Mahindra, Microsoft and IBC Media. The program also serves as the inaugural accelerator program for the Telangana Blockchain District and with a major aim of making Telangana the “blockchain capital of the world.”

The registrations for the T-Block Accelerator started last February 3, according to the report. A one week bootcamp will be held, followed by a four-week-long training.

The participating startups will reportedly get benefits of mentorship and guidance from experts in the local startup and blockchain space. Also, out of the 25 startups selected for the Phase 1 of the program, five will be selected for the Phase 2, and then they will get a chance to test their idea in the market, as well as, enjoy funding and ability to work with Tech Mahindra, Microsoft’s blockchain team.

The principal secretary of ITE&C Department in Telangana, Jayesh Ranjan said: “We have more than a dozen blockchain-led use cases running in our government departments. While we are providing the required support to the startups by using their solutions in our government projects, scaling up is still a challenge. Running an accelerator of this nature is very important in this context.”