Bengaluru, May 29 (IANS) Seventeen teams emerged as winners in the 'Build for Bharat' initiative, launched by the government's Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), in collaboration with Startup India, Google Cloud India, Antler in India, Protean and Paytm, it was announced on Wednesday.

Launched on December 4, 2023 across more than 50 cities, the 'Build for Bharat' initiative saw over 27,000 participants representing startups, companies and colleges from across the country.

The initiative was structured around three distinct categories.

The 'NextGen Ventures' category aimed at accelerating venture creation on the ONDC Network, specifically for early-stage and aspiring founders.

Six teams - Shopeg, OmniFlo, Zepic, Upaz, DPI corp and Zceppa - emerged as winners, securing non-equity grants of up to $40,000 each.

The eligible teams will also receive Google Cloud credits along with an opportunity to be inducted into the Antler India Residency Programme, with an equity funding of up to $250,000.

"The diverse array of solutions developed by participants from across the country showcases India's immense potential to revolutionise the growing digital commerce ecosystem," said T Koshy, MD and CEO at ONDC.

The 'Scalable Solutions' category saw four teams - Progmatic, Cyborg, Cydra Tech and oof - won the first prize of $7,500 each, while Harentortoise and Indexvoyagers won the second prize of $3,500 each. Eligible teams will also receive Google Cloud credits.

In the 'Foundation Solutions' category, five teams - Checkfirst, Faszen Tech, Pokleaniket927248, Phoenix, and The Sentient Squad - received $3000 (each winning team), while three teams - Morin, Pinpoint and Decap - received the second prize of $1,000 (each winning team). Eligible teams will also receive Google Cloud credits.

"The 'Build for Bharat' initiative has been a resounding success, serving as a testament to the power of collaboration and the collective genius of the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem," said Anil Bhansali, VP Engineering and Head of India Development Centre at Google Cloud.