SAP SE announced the launch of SAP Startup Studio, an accelerator program that will provide mentoring, infrastructure, technology support to seven seed and early stage startup companies. With this, SAP Labs is establishing a dedicated program to drive entrepreneurship in India.

Inaugurating SAP Startup Studio, Bernd Leukert, member of the Executive Board, Products & Innovation, SAP SE, said, "The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), estimates the number of new companies launched in India grew by 40 percent last year. India is now known as one of the most beneficial markets for startups. SAP Startup Studio will serve as a catalyst to further accelerate the growth of startups. This initiative perfectly fits into our philosophy of fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation for growth and development"

SAP Startup Studio will provide companies having an idea or early prototype with guidance and support in building their business during the first year through access to SAP’s huge ecosystem of customers and partners. In addition, startups benefit from access to SAP knowledge, experts, venture capitalists, technology visionaries and academia. SAP and its partner experts will share and mentor the selected startups on emerging trends and technologies. If required, SAP will also take an equity position and reference to SAP’s Merger & Acquisition team for the next stage of growth.

"India is home to the fastest growing ecosystem of startups and one of the most fertile ground for new businesses. The aim of SAP Startup Studio is to support Indian startups with a complete ecosystem: guiding and mentoring them on technology and management and providing them with a work environment that also gives them access to SAP experts in their domains." This is an exciting addition to our SAP Labs campus in Bengaluru, said Dilipkumar Khandelwal, Managing Director, SAP Labs India and Executive Vice President, Enterprise Cloud Services, SAP SE.