Wayra, the startup incubator launched by Telefónica in 2012, has expanded its reach to China after announcing a deal with Virtue Inno Valley (VIV), a well-respected accelerator program run by Tsinghua University.
The deal is Wayra’s first partnership in Asia and it sees VIV become a member of the Wayra Global Alliance. That essentially means it will enjoy a range of shared resources that include expertise, mentoring, training, media and investment opportunities, while the alliance’s 14 members worldwide gain the benefits of a partner on the ground in China.
Perhaps most importantly for VIV, the deal gives it a link to Telefónica. Today’s announcement explains that “successful products developed by Chinese startups” will have an opportunity to gain “access” the operator’s 320 million plus customers, which span 24 countries worldwide.
“We have consolidated operations in Europe and Latin America, and extending the Wayra network to Asia is a great step for us to create something remarkable in the startup industry,” Gonzalo Martin-Villa, CEO of Wayra, said in a statement.
Related: How Wayra hopes to create many Silicon Valleys across Latin America
Image via DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images
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