BANGALORE, July 14, 2015: DCB Bank partnered with BITS Pilani to organise the international startup conclave, ‘Conquest 2015’, in Bangalore, featuring close to 35 entrepreneurs along with mentors, angel investors and venture capitalists.
Startups have a fabulous opportunity to take forward their business idea and plans and compete to catch the eye of potential investors. The annual event invites startups to get assessed on their idea and business plan, it organizes mentoring sessions as well as gives a platform for startups to pitch and network with potential investors.
While Conquest 2015 saw more than 1,500 registrations, including participants from abroad, only 50 teams have made it to the shortlist. The Bangalore leg saw the participation by 12 teams.
The event comprised varied startup genre such as technology and e-commerce. Key industry participant mentors were present at the event include:
Murali Natrajan – Managing Director and CEO, DCB Bank
J.K. Vishwanath – Chief Credit Officer, DCB Bank
Anant Vidur – Venture Capitalist, Bessemer Capital
Sujoy Chaudhary – Sales Strategy, Practo
Anuradha –Chief Internal Auditor, DCB Bank
In addition to mentoring startups in the process of incubation and IP filing, the mentors advised them on fundraising and revenue model refining, customer acquisition, hiring and grooming talent, up-scaling, branding and marketing, and technology.
Mr. Murali M. Natrajan, Managing Director & CEO, DCB Bank, said, “We are inspired by grit and passion in entrepreneurship and impressed with the young talent from BITS, Pilani. The Bank and Conquest 2015 actually share the vibe. DCB Bank is delighted to be the playground for raw entrepreneurship and proud to be associated with BITS Pilani.’’
Mr. Srikanth Garimela, CEO Conquest 2015 said, “The response to Conquest 2015 has been truly amazing. We would like to earnestly thank DCB Bank and our sponsors for support and encouragement.”
About DCB Bank
DCB Bank Limited (Formerly Development Credit Bank Ltd.) is a modern emerging new generation private sector bank with 157 branches across 17 States and 2 Union Territories. It is a scheduled commercial bank regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. It is professionally managed and governed. DCB Bank has contemporary technology and infrastructure including state of the art internet banking for personal as well as business banking customers. The Bank’s customer segments are Retail, micro-SME, SME, mid-Corporate, Microfinance Institutions (MFI), Agriculture, Commodities, Government, Public Sector, Co-operative Banks and Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC). DCB Bank has approximately 500,000 customers.
The Bank has deep roots in India since its inception in 1930s. Its promoter and promoter group the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) and Platinum Jubilee Investments Ltd. holds around 16.38 % stake. AKFED is an international development enterprise. It is dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and building economically sound companies.
AKFED operates as a network of affiliates with more than 90 separate project companies over 30,000 people. The fund is active in 16 countries in the developing world. AKFED had co-promoted HDFC in India in the late 70s.
For more details please visit www.dcbbank.com&http://www.akdn.org/akfed