The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has launched Circle Program, an initiative to mentor budding Indian startups. The peer to peer mentorship program will bring several entrepreneurs as mentors onboard with an aim to guide founders on making informed decisions.

The telecom association said that the program would aid founders in making critical business decisions regarding funding, investments, technology adoption and other issues related to their startups.

Ten mentors have joined the initiative so far.The program will have renowned founders namely Dinesh Agarwal (CEO, IndiaMart), Nikhil Kamath (Co-founder & CIO, Zerodha), Adhil Shetty (CEO, BankBazaar), Rajesh Magow (Group CEO, MakeMyTrip) as some of the mentors of the "Circle Program."

Startups with a valuation between INR 35-75 crore will be considered for Circle 1. Mentors will interview entrepreneurs and chosen candidates will be accepted into the program."Getting mentors on board was the biggest challenge because they have busy schedules. They have committed to giving a couple of hours every month to speak with the start-ups," said, Vivek Bhargava, Chairman, IAMAI Startup Committee.

The subscription fee for Circle Program is Rs 2 lakh (per annum) which can be renewed. "This will take care of the content we create for them. For example, they can get access to Harvard University courses at a specially negotiated price," explained Bhargava.

A total of 32 entrepreneurs will join the first circle by June 2021. "We want to do one circle, make sure it delivers value to entrepreneurs and mentors and will think about the next circle after that," Bhargava stated.