The Viridian Group has announced a joint venture with the UK-based accelerator Entrepreneurial Spark with an aim to provide a sector agnostic platform to promote entrepreneurship in India.

The joint venture company 'ESpark-Viridian' will offer an 18-month accelerator programme for Indian entrepreneurs.

Murali Hariharan, Global Head (Venture Strategy), Viridian Group, said, "Despite a high rating on innovation and entrepreneurship, India attracts barely 4 per cent of the venture capital funding in the world because of strategic gaps in skills, scaling, and business development models."

He added that the Viridian Group-led consortium and its capital partners will invest $300 million in a phased manner.

Jim Duffy, Founder and CEO, Entrepreneurial Spark, said India has less than 60 accelerators and incubators while London alone has 60 accelerators.

As many as 23 start-ups have already been shortlisted for the programme through a national level contest during Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015. The selection process is still on.

The joint venture will facilitate seed capital, subsequent funding rounds, and access to markets through various other platforms.