New Delhi, Jul 6 (IANS): The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on Monday launched a virtual incubator to empower tech startups from smaller towns and cities that have been hit by the pandemic.

The IAMAI would provide an initial start-up kit worth Rs 70 Lakh to those registered with its virtual incubator.

"More than 80 per cent of the start-ups in the digital tech space have been negatively impacted by the global pandemic and we appeal to all large companies to extend their support to these start-ups through the virtual incubator", said IAMAI President Subho Ray.

The IAMAI virtual incubator would address the needs of start-ups located outside the major cities of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, and Kolkata.

These start-ups and their founders, being outside the so-called startup network, find it difficult to validate their ideas, garner sufficient funds for ‘proof of concept' and are not able to find suitable guides and mentors, the IAMAI said in a statement.

"This will be a virtually accessible programme for providing state-of-the-art incubation services to every Indian startup and, thereby, enabling startups to charter their success stories," it added.

The programme will witness close supervision by dedicated mentors from relevant industry stakeholders for multiple cohorts that would be created based on the domain, sectors and the progress of the startups.

As part of its ‘Mobile 10X' initiative, IAMAI currently runs three non-profit incubators in Bengaluru, Kozhikode and Gurugram supported by the respective state governments, and has curated about 300 start-ups in the digital tech space.