Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it has acquired a strategic minority stake in cloud-based networking solutions provider Cnergee Technologies under the Airtel Startup Accelerator Programme. The percentage of shareholding or control acquired is nearly 7 per cent, Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges.
The stake acquisition will enable Airtel to sharpen its Network as a Service (NaaS) proposition for Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) who are looking to accelerate their shift to cloud-based applications. Airtel already offers a wide range of connectivity and productivity solutions for SMBs. Airtel Start-up Accelerator Programme invests in early-stage start-ups engaged in developing solutions based on new age technologies which also complements Airtel’s Digital vision across segments.
Navi Mumbai-based Cnergee Technologies specialises in integrated networking solutions over cloud for businesses of all sizes. Cnergee has developed a range of 5G ready software tools for Network as a Service (NaaS) that can be deployed at scale to enable zero touch service provisioning, central remote monitoring, and management of all connected devices with a host of real-time analytics. “As businesses move to cloud-based applications, software defined agile networks are becoming the norm. Airtel is on a mission to accelerate the digital transformation journeys of enterprises through our world-class NaaS platform,” said Ajay Chitkara, Director and CEO, Airtel Business.
