A cross-border business plan competition "Startup Dosti" is to be launched by an American think tank that will connect entrepreneurs from India and Pakistan, facilitating investment and collaboration. The new cross-border business plan competition, named "Startup Dosti", will be formally launched at an event on June 3 at the British Parliament. The competition by Atlantic Council will provide business support and seed funding to high-potential, early stage startups in India and Pakistan. A partnership between SEED Ventures (Karachi-London), the Indian Angel Network (New Delhi), and the Atlantic Council (Washington DC), the competition will be televised by GEO TV in Pakistan and an Indian broadcast partner, a statement said. Contestants will have the opportunity to win seed funding, incubation, mentorship, and access to business resources if they successfully convince a cross-border panel of seasoned investors to support their enterprises, the statement said. "Startup Dosti will interconnect the entrepreneurial communities across India and Pakistan, thus creating a platform for exchange of ideas, mentoring, assistance in access to markets, and perhaps funding," said Padmaja Ruparel, president, Indian Angel Network. "Given the similarities in the market stages in India and Pakistan, entrepreneurs from both countries can now look forward to assisted access to a significantly sized market in their neighbourhood," she said. "The Dosti Partnership is a timely project seeking to build upon steadily improving relations between India and Pakistan," the Atlantic Council said. Total trade between the two countries has increased from USD 750 million to more than USD 2.5 billion since 2005. Experts believe a USD 50 billion trade market could exist, should barriers and restrictions continue to fall, it said.