Google & MeitY Startup Hub unveils the first Appscale Academy cohort of 100 Indian startups

India is increasingly transforming into an app-first country and is uniquely positioned to become a leading hub for global app innovation amid increased digital adoption during the pandemic, a senior Google executive said on March 2.

"There is tremendous opportunity for Indian startups across the country, regardless of size, and location to thrive in the global app ecosystem. We are seeing innovations emerge from different parts of India, including tier-2 and tier-3 cities" said Purnima Kochikar, Vice President, Play Partnerships, Google.

Kochikar said that the time spent by users outside the country on apps and games created by Indian companies grew by 150% in 2021 compared to 2019. Indian apps and games also saw a 200% increase in monthly active users on Google Play in 2021 compared to 2019.

She also mentioned that Google has mentored over 1,500 Indian startups to date, helping them scale their businesses and seize growth opportunities.

Appscale academy launch

On March 2, Google and the Ministry of Electronics and IT's (MeitY's) Startup Hub unveiled the inaugural cohort of 100 Indian startups as part of Appscale Academy, a growth and development programme to train early to mid-stage startups across India.

These startups were selected from more than 400 applicants across the country by a panel comprising members of MeitY Startup Hub, Nasscom and Google Play.

"The Appscale Academy is an important milestone in Google's long journey to enable entrepreneurship and innovation in India. Our goal is to find innovative apps and games that cater to India's unique needs, and have the potential to scale globally" said Purnima Kochikar, Vice President, Play Partnerships, Google.

She said that more than one-third of the startups in its inaugural cohort hail from tier-two and tier-three cities and over 50% of the startups have a woman in a leadership role.

MeitY Startup Hub CEO Jeet Vijay said education and health are among two key needs that are top of mind for the country and these two verticals are represented heavily in the inaugural cohort.

About two-third of the cohort are startups in sectors such as education, health, social, gaming, finance and e-commerce. It also includes startups supporting core communities in India in areas such as agriculture, business-to-business (B2B), and parenting, he said.

Among the startups shortlisted in the cohort include Stamurai (speech therapy app for stuttering), Bitclass (live learning platform), Farmyng Club (social platform for farmers), Kutuki (preschool learning app), Sunita’s Makerspace ( a community app to foster innovation), LearnVern (job-oriented skilling app focused on regional languages), and Vivasayam (app promoting organic farming).

The initiative, first announced in October 2021, will train these startups through a customized curriculum on various aspects of building successful apps for the global market, including data safety and security practices, monetization, UX design, and global market expansion.

They will receive access to virtual instructor-led webinars, self-learning material, and mentorship sessions with several local and global industry professionals, and select startups will have an opportunity to pitch to venture capitalists for funding, the company said.

"From consistently investing in Android and Play, to help entrepreneurs build great apps and find global audiences, to building discovery systems based on Google's machine learning and AI to surface the right apps to the right audiences, we have been rigorously supporting startups and developers at every stage of their growth" Kochikar said.