Bengaluru, Mar 12 (IANS): In a bid to provide mentorship in design, innovation and entrepreneurship for software companies and startups, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) in association with Facebook on Monday launched "Design4India Studio" here.

The platform would provide interactions with design industry mentors and give an opportunity to aspiring designers and startups to explore, innovate and build design as a tool for innovation.

"Our first of many 'Open for all' design studios is built to foster a culture of testing, learning, iterating and prototyping of products and services to increase productivity and innovation for the entrepreneurs and designers," Ravi Gururaj, Founder and CEO, QikPod and Member, Nasscom Executive Council, said in a statement.

With "WeWork" -- a US-based company that provides shared workspaces -- as the collaborative space partner, the "Design4India Studio" would provide web, mobile, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) platforms for start-ups and designers.

"It is imperative that design should not be added as an afterthought, rather should be embedded in every step of product development, right from the beginning. Design4India Studio is such a platform that will provide startups with the right mentorship," added Satyajeet Singh, Head of Strategic Product Partnerships, Asia and South Asia at Facebook.

The studio would be an interchangeable, flexible space aiming to harness a hybrid of concepts that would empower startups and product companies to better adapt to new business ecosystems.

"Design4India" is a Nasscom initiative that was built in partnership with Facebook and aims to augment the software product innovation ecosystem in the country.