January 2023: NewsReach, an Ahmedabad-based digital media tech startup has achieved a major milestone in its journey as they were selected amongst the top 15 winners of the Startup Stairs initiative ‘Growth Acceleration Program with 4i’. As part of this initiative, NewsReach was awarded seed funding of 1 crore.
NewsReach enables content creation, licensing & distribution. It has also founded India’s first local news community, which is empowering vernacular hyper-local publications. NewsReach was awarded by Mr. Tejasvi Surya, a Member of Parliament. This innovative startup is revolutionizing content marketing with its advanced 360-degree tech platform.
Startup Stairs is an accelerator that empowers promising startups, MSMEs and aspiring entrepreneurs by providing them with mentoring services to accelerate their growth. The start-up recently announced the winners of its ‘Growth Acceleration Program with 4i’, under the aegis of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)supported by Startup India. An esteemed jury selected 15 leading-edge companies who have each been awarded seed funding ranging from Rs 25 lakhs to 5 crores.
Darshan Shah, Co-founder and CEO, NewsReach said “Currently, the advertising industry is highly reliant on search and display advertising provided by industry giants namely, Google and Facebook which offers limited engagement and ROI. There is no dedicated solution for brands to reach the 500M+ users from tier 2 cities and beyond. With our tech platform, brands get an opportunity to explore Advertorial and sponsored content as a form of advertising to reach the local audience. The funding we have received from Startup Stairs has made NewsReach fully subscribed in the current round of funding”.
Preet Sandhuu, Director of Startup Stairs, “ We envision a startup ecosystem that incorporates Aadhaar-linked digital verifications to combat potential risk and build brand integrity. This innovative method will allow startups to reach out on a larger scale with greater trustworthiness in the global market”.
India’s startup sector is increasingly attractive to domestic and international investors, fueled by the Government’s initiatives. Growth accelerators and incubators have proven invaluable as catalysts for growth, helping startups achieve scale swiftly through expert advice and extensive networks. As reported by Nasscom & Zinnov, these startups have seen tremendous growth over a 6-year period – ballooning from 7,000 in 2014 to 50,000 as of 2020.
From technology, media and e-commerce through healthcare to finance; entrepreneurs are paving their way into India’s future success thanks largely due to increasing accessibility of venture capital amongst other incentives. Programs such as Startup Stairs are valuable resources that arm entrepreneurs with knowledge gleaned from years of experience in performance-driven environments.