In Brief: Accel partner turns advisor to Karnataka CM; QPS expands to Britain

The Karnataka government has reportedly appointed Accel India partner Prashanth Prakash as a policy advisor to chief minister BS Yediyurappa. 

Prakash, also chairman of the Karnataka’s Startup Vision Group, was one of Accel India’s founding members in 2008. The state government declined a request for comment on the appointment’s veracity. 

While Prakash did not respond to TechCircle’s request for comment, he told MoneyControl on Tuesday that he hoped to contribute education and healthcare policies to make the state more resilient.  

Watch: Why Accel partner Prashanth Prakash is bullish on the new crop of agri-tech startups 

His focus on the role, he told the publication, would be to ensure sufficient supply of oxygen concentrators across the state, smoothen inter-state supply chain and logistics, and speed up as well as scale Covid-19 vaccinations. 

QPS Global 

Mumbai based card issuance and processing platform operator QPS Global on Wednesday said it will invest £10 million to expand its operations to the United Kingdom. 

The company, whose platform integrates with banks and payment servers, said it looks to gain 20% market share and generate revenues to over £100 million within the first three years of its operations. 

It would work closely with the department of international trade in Britain, as per a statement, which added that prime minister Boris Johnson welcomed the exercise of job creation of 100 individuals with the expansion. 

Founded in 2019 by Vinay Kalantri, QPS Global partners with large fintech firms such as Sify, Trend Micro, Thales, Mastercard, VISA, and Rupay, to deliver open API issuing card management system (CMS). 

It currently operates with a team of 20 members based in India, and one member based out of Dubai. QPS also plans to expand its reach in the Middle East and Europe, the statement added.