Salesforce, an American customer relationship management (CRM) company, has announced a program for startups in India to assist them to innovate, strengthen relations with clients, and build up their businesses.
This Salesforce Startup Program will offer startups mentorship as well as access to the company’s technology and professionals. The program provides a platform for startups to build a unified ecosystem of innovation, growth, and collaboration across sales, developer relations, Trailhead, Trailblazer product community, App-Exchange, and its Ventures organizations. Salesforce Ventures, the company’s venture capital arm, will also be ready to invest in select startups, according to the company.
Salesforce Startup Program perks include direct exposure to Salesforce services, which also include its CRM platform. The startups will also get access to the company’s AppExchange, a repository of pre-built customized applications from Salesforce and partners that deliver value by solving business problems, as well as a channel of communication for consultants who build custom solutions. Startups will be able to innovate in an international marketplace using AppExchange through this program.
This program will also provide startups with access to the trailblazer community as well as a platform for mentorship opportunities from industry experts, which include product strategy, design coaching, and technology. Salesforce Ventures may also provide start-ups with the opportunity to pitch corporate technology investors. It will also facilitate start-ups with their design, go-to-market, and product development strategies.
Arundhati Bhattacharya, CEO and Chairperson at Salesforce India in a statement said, “Startups are a critical pillar to the success of our growth in India. With the Salesforce Startup Program, we wish to innovate locally to resolve local problems while at the same time promoting these solutions globally. I am confident we will be able to deliver innovation at scale enabling growth for both the ecosystem and Salesforce.”
Salesforce is among the world’s leading providers of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing businesses closer to their customers in the rapidly expanding digital age. Salesforce, founded in 1999, helps businesses of all sizes and industries to generate a 360-degree view of their customers by using innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, internet of things (IoT), mobile, social, voice, and blockchain.
According to IDC, the Salesforce Economy in India will contribute 1.3 million jobs as well as $66.4 billion in new business revenue by 2026. Salesforce is fueling massive expansion in its partner ecosystem in India, which will generate $6.55 for every $1 it makes locally by 2026.
In 2021 alone, the Indian startup ecosystem created 42 unicorns startups with billion-dollar valuations, that sparked the interest of numerous global technology firms. An August 2021 report from early-stage venture capital firm 3One4 Capital suggests the country’s startup ecosystem is projected to triple in valuation by 2025, from more than $1 trillion today.
