Microsoft and Accenture Collaborate
New Delhi, June 30, 2020.
Microsoft’s 100X100X100 program is collaborating with
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to
host the third edition of the Accenture Ventures Challenge for
startups in India. To be held on August 11 in a virtual format, this year’s edition of the
annual challenge
will recognize startups in India across four categories: supply chain resilience,
channel shift to digital commerce, systems resilience and responsible
technology.
Launched in 2018, the Accenture Ventures Challenge is
an annual event run by the Accenture Ventures Open Innovation program in India
to identify the best B2B tech startups
to develop solutions for real world challenges faced by businesses. This
collaboration is the first
corporate access partnership for Microsoft‘s 100X100X100 program in India.
Accenture
Ventures Challenge 2020 will
identify 12 innovative startups that are helping to address the business and
human impact of COVID-19, driving innovation in the ’never normal’ era. The
winner in each category will be given an opportunity to join the Accenture
Ventures Open Innovation partner program and co-create solutions for Accenture
clients around the world. Winners will also get access to benefits from the
Microsoft Scale Up program, which supports Seed or Series A B2B startups to
scale and co-sell with Microsoft sales teams.
Lathika
Pai, country head, Microsoft for Startups, MENA & SAARC, said, “The
collaboration between Microsoft’s 100X100X100 and the Accenture Ventures
Challenge event reflects our commitment to boost the entrepreneurial energy of
startups and build scale with the enterprise opportunities. This initiative
will truly help startups evolve from being market-ready to enterprise-ready
with the best resources and support from both Microsoft and Accenture.”
Avnish
Sabharwal, managing director for Accenture Ventures and Open Innovation in
India, added, “Collaboration across the
ecosystem is crucial for driving innovation, and we are thrilled to bring
Microsoft on board for this year’s Accenture Ventures Challenge. The ongoing
business disruption requires an urgent response, and we are confident that we’ll
discover innovative new solutions from deep tech startups to help solve some of
the most pressing business and human challenges being faced by organizations in
India and across the globe.”
Microsoft’s 100X100X100 program
was launched earlier this year in India, with an objective of bringing together
100 committed companies and 100 early and growth startups with enterprise-ready
SaaS solutions. The participating companies also commit $100K over a period of
18-24 months on solutions provided by the startups.