Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler and manufacturer of the made-for-India brand BharatBenz, has announced a global competition ‘Startup Sparks’ for early-stage startups to pitch their ideas in the fields of – electric vehicles and alternate mobility;  connectivity and servitization; future mobility; and customised applications and industrial products.

The first edition of the competition will be held entirely online and will be open from December 21, 2020 to January 29, 2021. The participating startup can submit their application online by clicking here. The programme is open to early-stage startups, SMEs and entrepreneurs.

The application is free and results post-jury pitch session will be announced in February 2021. The final shortlisted startups will participate in the preincubation module followed by the nine-month incubation program, ‘The Farm’. With mentorship, infrastructure and funding support from DICV, academia and domain experts, participants can mature their ideas to the ‘proof of concept’ stage.

The initiative is organised in association with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the government of India and Invest India. The aim is to bring industry, institutes and the start-up ecosystem closer to strengthen knowledge capital.

Satyakam Arya, CEO and MD, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) said: “As the inventors of the first passenger car, omnibus and truck, innovation is a part of Daimler’s heritage. We’re excited to continue that tradition by launching The Farm, an incubator platform to drive innovation that offers early-stage entrepreneurs and inventors the chance to turn ideas into reality. Our vision is to develop and evolve mobility solutions to embrace a better life for people and the planet.”

Rahul Nayar, VP, AGNIi Mission, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, government of India / PM-STIAC, Invest India said: “Technology is revolutionising transport down to its most basic ideas. This offers us the opportunity to move millions of people and goods more quickly, safely, cheaply, and cleanly than ever before. The AGNIi Mission is very happy to collaborate with Daimler India Commercial Vehicles to help world-class innovators drive that revolution.”

“The evolving startup ecosystem is a big enabler to offer innovative and frugal solutions, defining the future of alternate mobility and Truck/Bus-as-a-Service. DICV is proud to offer The Farm as an incubator platform to nurture and accelerate these initiatives globally,” added Arya.