Bengaluru, Dec 18 (IANS): Microsoft on Wednesday announced its "ScaleUp" programme has extended support to 18 startups in the last 12 months. The selected startups are focused in the areas of fin-tech, Blockchain, health-tech and IoT, among others.

The "ScaleUp" prigramme provides startups access to world-class technology, mentorship and other community benefits that further their expansion on a global scale, the company said in a statement.

"Globally, the success story of the startup ecosystem in the region is drawing great attention. The Microsoft ScaleUp programme has shaped several startups in their journey to being enterprise ready," said Lathika Pai, Country Head, Microsoft for Startups, MENA and SAARC.

While Finbox is a comprehensive financial intelligence platform, Paanini is an innovative AI technology company.

Linear Squared is a Machine Learning-focused company building SaaS products while Whizpace is a wireless communication solutions provider.

Furing the engagement spanning eight to 12 months, the selected startups have opportunities to regularly engage with industry experts and leverage the Microsoft Partner Network for business growth.

Microsoft helps accelerate their startup journeys through mentorship, streamlined go-to-market (GTM) activities and access to world-class technology resources, said the company.

Worxogo is a neuroeconomics and AI startup with an AI coach while Smarten Spaces is a technology company that has built an end-to-end AI and IoT platform to make spaces easy to work, explore or live in.

JusPay is a full-stack digital payments platform that enables secure and frictionless payment experiences, enabling organizations to scale their online payments with a fully-managed SaaS platform.

The Microsoft "ScaleUp" programme supports Seed or Series A funded B2B and select B2C tech-enabled startups to co-sell with Microsoft sales teams, get access to top tech VCs globally and receive mentorship from the startup ecosystem.