UCWeb, the China-based mobile internet company owned by e-commerce group Alibaba, yesterday launched a $20m fund for India-based gaming startups called 9Apps In Dev.
The fund, named after UCWeb’s 9Apps Android app store, will act as an accelerator, helping up to 100 game developers with user acquisition, monetisation, publishing and promotion as well as, according to DealStreetAsia, providing up to $500,000 of funding to each.
UCWeb is the owner of UCBrowser, currently India’s most popular mobile browser, and Robert Bu, general manager of UCWeb India, told Tech in Asia the company expects the country’s mobile gaming market to grow fivefold by 2018.
Bu said in a statement: “UCWeb and 9Apps are committed to building a healthy ecosystem where local users can download quality app and games they like, and developers are able to enjoy fruitful financial return for providing excellent apps and games.
“Through our InDev Program, we want to encourage developers to focus on building the app and game itself, while 9Apps will take care of the rest, including marketing, promotion, user acquisition and monetisation, creating a hassle-free environment for them to grow.”