Notonmap gets 2,50,000 Euro grant from Booking.com
Amsterdam: Indian startup Notonmap, which seeks to create livelihood for people in rural areas by connecting them to offbeat travellers, has bagged a Euro 2,50,000 grant from travel portal Booking.com.
The grant was announced Friday after 10 shortlisted startups completed a three-week accelerator programme, which culminated with pitches for the grants, a Booking.com statement said.
The startup's founder Kumar Anubhav said seeking a purpose in life led him to the idea.
"I am an engineer. I went to the US... worked for an American firm for several years, but the question that haunted me was what was the purpose of my life. That was the trigger," he told PTI after the announcement.
Anubhav said they launched the pilot project in 2014, seeking to give travellers a real taste of life in the rural areas.
"These communities are like cultural museums, they are our cultural heritage," he said, explaining the philosophy behind the initiative.
Currently, the startup is working across 60 villages, covering some 20 communities.
They have a presence in states like Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Karnataka, he said.
Notonmap's Euro 2,50,000 is the third highest grant received by any startup and the money will be deployed for its proposed expansion plans in the future, the Booking.com statement said. Colombia's Impulse Travel and Okra Solar of Australia topped the list by bagging a grant of Euro 4,00,000 each.
