T-Hub Inks MoU with Redberri Earth Foundation under its T-Bridge Initiative

New Delhi: T-Hub, which leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem, today announced that it has signed an MoU with Redberri Earth Foundation, a US-based non-profit organization under its T-Bridge initiative. The partnership will aim to understand market opportunities for Indian startups in the US market. T-Hub and Redberri will provide Indian and Chicago startups with business opportunities, market understanding and access to clients in Chicago and India, respectively. The two entities will collaborate in the areas of startup innovation and entrepreneurship.

The partnership was formalised virtually with an MoU signed by Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub and Deepak Kant Vyas Chairman and CEO of Redberri Earth Foundation.

This partnership will help the startups and support T-Hub in creating a strong foothold in Chicago startup and innovation ecosystem. T-Hub will receive the below benefits:

Access to space and infrastructure in the Chicago area.
Access to select technology conferences and events.
Connects with the Chicago-based research universities, technology industry associations, chambers of commerce, US Government grant agencies to provide research, marketing, and financial support to the T-Bridge Program.
Opportunity to partner with leading incubators and accelerators in the US and worldwide.

Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub, said, “This partnership will enable us to deliver knowledge and support not just to the Indian startups for their business expansion in the international market but also will welcome US-based startups to set up and scale-up in the rapidly growing but complicated Indian market. Together we will ensure that our high-potential startups have the end-to-end support and guidance as they prepare to launch their business in new global markets driven by innovation.”

T-Hub, in partnership with Redberri, aims to establish structured market access programs and soft-landing programs, which will help nurture the startup ecosystem in the US and India. The program will run virtually first with rich curriculum of online activities like webinars and roundtables, and gradually startups will be localised in North America and India. Indian startups will be incubated with Redberri in Chicago and US startups will be incubated with T-Hub in India.

Deepak Kant Vyas Chairman and CEO of Redberri Earth Foundation said, “T-Hub is a valuable partner to help the US startups to scale in a new market and experience India’s exceptional entrepreneurial ecosystem. We are also looking forward to enabling Indian startups to gain a strong foothold in the US market and connect them to the larger international players to enhance their growth journey. The startups will benefit greatly from the strategic workshops and interventions provided under this partnership to access both the markets and explore business opportunities. Redberri Innovation Center is proud to partner with T-Hub.”

This year-long fruitful partnership, under the T-Bridge program will give opportunity to the Indian startups to tap into one of the fastest growing startup ecosystems in the U.S. T-Hub will initiate the call for applications for Indian startups from the smart mobility and transportation ecosystem to participate in this opportunity. After a thorough screening process, six high potential and growth startups will be selected based.

Similarly, T-Hub will open doors for the Silicon Valley-based startups to tap into the Indian market and will create ample opportunities for selected 20 startups to explore business opportunities. For the same, Redberri will call for applications from early growth to mid-stage startups based in the Chicago specifically from sectors like smart mobility and transportation and other future relevant deep technology areas. The startups will be curated based on existing traction and proven month-on-month growth, proven business model with high factor of transferability to India, prior venture capital investment or funding acquired and readiness to engage in PoCs (Proof of concepts) and partnerships. The program will have two cohorts with 10 Silicon Valley based startups in each.

Program structure will include two months of market feasibility study, six months on incubation and market localisation, and four months of post program support to establish trails and Proof-of-Concepts in the new market.

Indian Startups must meet the following eligibility criteria to apply:

Technology startups that have raised investments of at least $3mn.
Product/ solution is market ready and being sold in home market or elsewhere.
Proven distribution model in home or other markets.
At least one founder needs to be present during the program, different interventions might require product manager, sales and/ or technical and operational specialist to attend the program virtually or physically.
Willingness to invest time and resources to enter the U.S. market.
At least one team member needs to be present during all in-country interventions.
Benefits that the startups will receive from the program include:

Support in product localisation, business model validation for the market and understanding of the local business culture.
Access to personal mentors and Entrepreneur-in-Residence throughout the program.
Access to corporate partners, industry leaders, government engagement, demo days, media activities and networking events.
Provision of a co-working space at T-Hub.
Provision of a co-working space by Redberri.
No equity taken.

T-Bridge initiative aims to help startups scale globally through various programs and access Indian market and other emerging geographies. T-Hub has provided market access to 300+ Indian startups with 18+ international interventions It has conducted more than 10 market access program and facilitated 200+ international startups from more than 40 countries. T-Hub will continue to drive collaboration between startups and leading innovation ecosystems across the world, providing global market-access opportunities to startups. For more information about the program, visit https://t-hub.co/t-bridge-international-programs/.