YES Bank, the fourth-largest private sector bank in India has launched a new accelerator program for AgriTech and clean energy startups. Dubbed YES Scale, the accelerator program has picked 14 startups representing both these sectors after screening more than 1,000 applications.
YES Scale is a 15-month long program that aims to help participating startups deliver new technologies and innovations that can be deployed across the country. As part of the program, the startups will be collaborating with big shots like BigBasket, ITC, First Solar, Schneider Electric, and more.
Namita Vikas, group president and global head of YES Bank’s Climate Strategy & Responsible Banking division, was present at the YES Scale launch event. She stated that making strategic investments in high-potential models that can be scaled throughout India was a top priority for Yes Bank.
“We have collaborated to work on a technology that purifies water 100%, without using electricity or creating waste and we have covered 800 railway stations where we are providing access to safe and clean drinking water. Five Crore people were touched last year and what we have seen is that for every one rupee we invest in this project we are creating a social value of about one cent (INR 6.85). So that’s a real impact for us,” Vikas said.
The startups completing the acceleration program stands the chance to score lucrative funding offers from Yes Bank, amounting to up to $1 million. For this, the bank has already joined forces with 15 investment partners, most of them are VCs keen on leveraging the upswing in the burgeoning agri-tech and clean energy sectors in India.
