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Spolto is a recently-launched sports-tech start-up that allows its users open access to organized information and an opportunity to connect with its partners, which for now includes sports coaches and academies.
Founded by Safa Soltani, a Swedish entrepreneur who’s been working in India for the past decade, the start-up is creating an ecosystem for those interested in sports.
The start-up recently raised a ₹5.5 crore ($700,000) pre-seed funding round led by a Swedish angel investor group. Leading the round is Gabriel Ghavami, founder and CEO of GO MO Group, a rapidly growing digital marketing agency in Sweden. Passionate about India-Sweden relations, the entrepreneur has now set his sights on disrupting sports communication.
Speaking about why he invested in Spolto, Gabriel Ghavami said:
“There is something very noble about the entire vision, and I have always felt sports can be a force for good in the world. When I was asked by an entrepreneur that I admire very much to take part as lead seed investor and chairman of a sports-tech company with unicorn ambitions, my answer was a loud and clear, YES.”
Spolto's launch and future plans
Having recently launched in Pune, the start-up is already creating partnerships at the grassroots level with sports coaches and academies. One of their partners, head coach of Sanjay Sawant Basketball Academy, Subedar Major Sanjay Sawant said:
“I am very excited about finding a new way to share knowledge with everyone interested in basketball.”
The platform is also helping sports enthusiasts. Atharva Tapare, an avid cricket fan, recently joined a cricket academy called Nannaware Sports Foundation after a successful free trial organized by the start-up.
Empowered by their pre-seed funding, the start-up's goal now is to move into bigger geographies by creating strong partnerships. The current round would allow the venture to invest in an extensive partner network across multiple sports and build technology to penetrate the market at scale.
Spolto aims to make sports accessible to the masses and enable participation in India by bridging the information gap across the grassroots sports ecosystem, which is likely to involve over 40 million people from the Indian middle class by 2025, as per a report by Sportskeeda.
Spolto’s vision to connect people in sports is driven by a team of 22 young professionals who share a common belief: sports is the ultimate unifier - transcending race, politics, class, and any other differences that keep us apart.
