Confluent has announced the Confluent for Startups program in India. The programme, according to the company statement, offers a risk-free way for India’s growing start-up community to deploy the power of Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud, giving access to advanced real-time data streaming for up to a year, at no cost.

The programme enables seed and A-round startups to deploy the power of Apache Kafka while maintaining the speed and agility that early-stage businesses need. Using fully-managed Confluent Cloud, early-stage businesses can set their data in motion to build smart, real-time applications, and bypass the pain of in-house development, or use less flexible alternatives with fewer features.

In addition to free access to the Confluent Cloud, start-ups will also be welcomed to the Confluent Community, where other program members share experiences and help with infrastructure and business-related challenges.

Tim Graczewski, Head of Confluent for Startups, commented: “The first 12-18 months is a pivotal stage for startups, yet too many have to rely on inflexible, makeshift data stacks that can’t support fast growth and rapid product development. India has a burgeoning startup scene and through our program we’re making real-time data really easy for these ambitious businesses, empowering them with the fully managed Confluent Cloud platform at a crucial stage.”

Deepak Ajmani, Vice President of APAC Commercial, added: “Many start-ups face big challenges with budgets and small teams with limited in-house Kafka expertise. Through this program, we’re empowering early-stage businesses across India to get their infrastructure right from the start, with access to Kafka and Confluent experts to accelerate product and service development while dramatically reducing the in-house technical work.”