As part of this engagement, Panasonic will also roll out challenges for the startups and based on regular reviews the winner will be announced in March 2024….reports Asian Lite News
Panasonic Life Solutions India and Panasonic Corporation in collaboration with a leading seed stage venture capital (VC) ‘100X.VC’ on Tuesday announced that it selected 12 startups from over 140 entries received for the ‘Panasonic Ignition’ Corporate Innovation accelerator programme.
These startups will participate in the programme over the next three months. They will receive comprehensive support from both Panasonic and the 100X.VC teams, in the form of mentorship sessions, guidance, and financial resources to complete their project.
“This initiative underscores our commitment to fostering groundbreaking technologies and solutions that address the evolving needs of commercial spaces while contributing to a sustainable future,” Manish Misra, the Chief Innovation Officer, at Panasonic Life Solutions India, said in a statement.
As part of this engagement, Panasonic will also roll out challenges for the startups and based on regular reviews the winner will be announced in March 2024.
The accelerator programme has been designed by Panasonic India Innovation Centre (IIC), part of Panasonic Life Solutions India, to create a platform in collaboration with 100X.VC, where selected founders of startups, will receive investment, access to various master classes, expert mentorship, and support around product strategy, the company said.
“Due to joint efforts by both the teams, in a very short span of time, we were able to attract many applications from high-quality startups. We look forward to working with the shortlisted startups and contribute to their journey over the next 12-14 weeks” said Yagnesh Sanghrajka, Founder and CFO at 100X.VC.
Govt goes bullish on startups with ESOP holiday, tax relief.
Of those heavy loss-making unicorns, 14 were from the e-commerce sector, followed by fintech at 13, and consumer services at six unicorns…reports Asian Lite News
The great Indian startup and unicorn party, which saw record funding volumes in 2020, 2021 and the first half of 2022, appears to be over for now as several top names in the ecosystem continue to bleed money, with no respite in sight in FY23.
At least 55 (74 per cent) from 74 unicorns incurred a cumulative operating loss of $5.9 billion in FY22, according to leading startup covering portal Inc42.
Of those heavy loss-making unicorns, 14 were from the e-commerce sector, followed by fintech at 13, and consumer services at six unicorns, the report added.
While Swiggy incurred around $398 million loss in FY22, BharatPe reported $726 million operating loss in FY22.
Flipkart incurred $568 million loss and Meesho reported $422 million operating loss.
VerSe Innovation reported a loss of $343 million in FY22; ShareChat incurred $377 million and Unacademy $352 million, according to Inc42.
Another unicorn udaan incurred $229 million in FY22 operating losses.
The curious case of edtech major BYJU’s continues to haunt millions. The company reported an astounding net loss of over Rs 4,588 crore in FY21 on consolidated revenues of Rs 2,428 crore.
However, the company last year said it registered nearly Rs 9,991 crore in revenues in its FY22 financial results.
Meanwhile, BYJU’s is yet to file its FY22 results with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).
Most of the leading Indian edtech startups have been bleeding money for months now.
Some of these loss-making unicorns companies are expected to launch their IPOs soon but with their income nosediving, the public market route to raise money and stay afloat has become all the more difficult.
Indian startups raised a total of $2.8 billion in funds in the first quarter of 2023, a massive 75 per cent decrease compared to the same period in the previous year ($11.9 billion), as rising inflation and interest rates continue to impact investments significantly amid a deepening funding winter.
There were no new unicorns created in the January-March period, compared with 14 unicorns in Q1 2022, according to the report by Tracxn, a leading global market intelligence platform.
The funding volumes contracted due to the reduction in late-stage funding, which declined by 79 per cent in the first quarter ($1.8 billion) compared to Q1 2022.
Early-stage rounds saw funding of $844 million, a drop of 4 per cent compared to Q4 2022 but a drop of 68 per cent compared to Q1 of 2022.
Late-stage rounds in Q1 of 2023 saw funding of $1.8 billion, a decline of 79 per cent compared to Q1 of 2022 and a 23 per cent drop compared to Q4 last year.
All eyes are now on top Indian startups/unicorns as they begin to reveal their FY23 results.
Startup funding slows but strong core policies will help tide over uncertainties, say experts(IN)
The market disruption by the Covid-19 pandemic created phases of growth and slowdowns for startups…reports Asian Lite News
Consumer demand is expected to stay low over the coming quarters, as inflation continues to rise, creating a further slowdown phase for the startups in the country, a new report has said.
There is an ongoing risk of further escalation in the war on Ukraine and the current wheat crop being impacted by hot weather conditions, according to market research firm Redseer Strategy Consultants.
Consumer perception of the general economic condition continues to be pessimistic as per the Reserve Bank of India’s Consumer Confidence Survey of January 2023, where more than 50 per cent of consumers reported it to have worsened.
This comes at a difficult time for startups. They currently have limited ability to drive growth through discounts and other levers, which worked well during an easier funding environment.
“Therefore, startups must focus on efficient unit economics and improving profitability by sticking to their core offerings,” the report said.
One strategy that has worked for FMCG players in the face of shrinkflation has been the push towards smaller stock-keeping units (SKUs).
“Bharat-focused startups, too, need to look at revamping their SKU strategy to fit the tighter wallets of the mass-market consumers. The second strategy is to double down on the premium categories, which have lower price elasticity and have performed well against market pressures across sectors,” the findings showed.
The market disruption by the Covid-19 pandemic created phases of growth and slowdowns for startups.
As a result, most businesses experienced a net growth that spanned two pandemic waves.
However, in 2022, global inflationary pressures severely impacted consumer demand. The revenue increase was driven by higher prices, as volumes remained low across the urban and rural sectors.
“With the macroenvironment challenges expected to continue, consumer demand is likely to remain subdued for the foreseeable future,” the report said.
“We expect consumer demand over the near future to continue staying subdued, with high inflation, unemployment in the urban organised sector and falling real wages in the rural areas,” it added.
AIC-RNTU is located at Raisen, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The incubation centre was established in June 2018 and has been continuously supporting startups since then…reports Lothungbeni Humtsoe
We are all aware of the importance of entrepreneurship in terms of providing products and jobs, but most importantly in terms of functioning as the source of economic growth in a specific state or country. With a vision to enhance the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem in Madhya Pradesh and rise as top leaders and contribute to the economy, AIC-RNTU Foundation, supported by NITI Aayog under Atal Innovation Mission was founded in the year 2018 under the leadership of CEO, Ronald Fernandez and Director AIC-RNTU Foundation, Siddharth Chaturvedi.
To help companies expand their businesses while also raising awareness and encouraging entrepreneurship as a career option among students. Through numerous events, workshops, and mentoring sessions, AIC-RNTU has engaged and supported 350+ entrepreneurs while also creating 250+ jobs. We spoke with Siddharth Chaturvedi, who walked us through the entire AIC-RNTU ecosystem.
Read Excerpts:
Tell us about the INCUBATION facility. Where is it, and when did you start it?
Siddharth: AIC-RNTU Foundation, Bhopal is one of the leading Incubation centres of Central India, which is supported by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. AIC-RNTU has today become Central India’s leading name in startup incubation and has been working to support the Start-up ecosystem across all the functions viz. funding, mentoring, handholding, industry connect, workshops, investor connects, events, competitions, new age labs & dedicated office space, etc.
AIC-RNTU is located at Raisen, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The incubation centre was established in June 2018 and has been continuously supporting startups since then.
Could you perhaps share any case studies with us?
Siddharth: Medyseva Technologies Private Limited, a MedTech startup based out of Indore joined AIC-RNTU as an incubator at a very early stage. They were provided a seed fund support of INR 35 Lakhs by AIC-RNTU under Startup India Seed Fund Scheme. Medyseva is also a part of AIC-RNTU Discover Cohort 2022. The startup was provided mentoring and training through the vast pool of mentors associated with AIC-RNTU. AIC-RNTU also provided a market connection of 22000 centers in rural areas through the parent organization, AISECT Group to Medyseva. The startup recently raised an investment amount of INR 1.15 Crores from The Horses Stable (an Indian reality show created and conceptualized under the mentorship of entrepreneur and Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty).
Which companies are you currently sponsoring at the centre?
Siddharth: We have 74 startups incubated with us. As we are sector agnostic, the startups are from multiple sectors. Brands like Medyseva and Wonderlooms are some of the startups that have raised money from Angel Investors and VC Firms after being incubated at AIC-RNTU. Is AIC-RNTU self-funded or do you receive funding from the government?
Siddharth: AIC-RNTU Foundation is an Incubation Centre supported and funded by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is an ambitious flagship program of NITI Aayog. Under its aegis, Rabindranath Tagore University was selected to establish Atal Incubation Centre by Niti Aayog amongst the 1200 second-round applicants. AIM grant was used to set up the state-of-the-art infrastructure of the incubation centre.
AIC-RNTU has also received Startup India Seed Fund Scheme by DPIIT, and Nidhi – Seed Support Scheme by DST (Department of Science & Technology) to support and fund eligible startups. What is the team size?
Siddharth: We are an 11 people team that includes Director, Chief Executive Officer, Assistant Manager, Incubation Officer, Assistant Incubation Officer, Accountant/Administration, Technical Person, Designers, and Consultant/Advisor.
Apart from this, AIC-RNTU also has a mentor pool of 80+ mentors, 50+ corporate partners, 30+ investors, and 10+ ecosystem partners to support the startups.
How do you manage training/workshops? Who conducts these sessions?
Siddharth: AIC-RNTU provides holistic exposure to promising startups. That’s why we have divided our incubation program according to the stage of the startups. Following is our Incubation Program :
Ideate Program: This program aims at helping innovation-driven startups in their cocoon stage to convert their invalidated business ideas into feasible prototypes. Under this program, we provide a dedicated technical mentor, access to our labs, access to co-working space, access to business mentoring sessions, patent support & corporate connections to startups. This is a 5-6 months program & expected outcome from the startup will be a feasible prototype that can be commercialised in a later stage
Discover Program: This program aims at startups who have their prototype in place but struggling with business models & customer acquisition. Under this program, we help them in making robust business models, and customer acquisition strategies and give them market access. Under this program, we provide a dedicated business mentor, access to our labs, access to co-working space, access to business mentoring sessions, patent support, access to a network, legal and accounting support, technical support, and H.R support. Duration – 9 Months
Growth Program: This program leads to investment, Under this program, we help startups in making their investment ready. Under this program, we provide a dedicated business mentor, access to our labs, access to co-working space, access to business mentoring sessions, patent support, access to the network, legal & accounting support, access to HNI’s/VCs, corporate connections & H.R support. Duration -3 Months.
AIC-RNTU enhancing the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem in Madhya Pradesh.(Photo:IANSLIFE)
A vast pool of 80+ mentors, which includes successful entrepreneurs from across the country, mentors from investment backgrounds, and domain experts are associated with AIC-RNTU for a holistic learning experience to startups. Startup training and workshops are mainly carried out through them.
AIC-RNTU has engaged and supported 350+ startups and created 250+ Jobs through various events- Please share more insights on this.
Siddharth: AIC-RNTU being an incubation center is working towards building a strong startup ecosystem in central India. For this purpose, we do multiple events which include conferences, investor networking events, business networking events, awareness and outreach events, etc. These events also help entrepreneurs gain the necessary exposure that they might not be getting otherwise.
Some of the prominent events include the EO Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) which is a premier global competition for students who own and operate a business, Dream Startup Challenge – in association with CII, DCB Bank Innovation Carnival, Navonmesh Startup Idea Challenge, i4 Summit to identify and support innovation from rural areas of central India, etc. Over the years, startups and innovators have benefited from such events.
Under the Companies Act, 2013 a private company can be created with the bare minimum requirement of two shareholders or even at times with a single person (one person company) …reports Chinmoy Pradip Sharma
The controversies surrounding BharatPe has brought the spotlight upon the need for a robust corporate governance in startups in India. According to the Economic Survey 2021-22, India has become the 3rd largest ecosystem for startups in the world on the heels of the US and China. There are over 61,400 startups in India with 95 of them having achieved ‘unicorn’ status.
In order to facilitate and further this healthy growth of startups, India has increasingly eased out regulatory compliances and has provided numerous tax incentives. The consequent flurry of investment activities by investors, private equity funds and venture capital firms in startups is now throwing up the obvious question whether these startups can pass muster at a due diligence exercise of their corporate governance track record.
Corporate governance thrives upon the idea that every company has to ensure a healthy balance between the interests of various stakeholders such as the promoters, the shareholders, employees and customers. Accountability, integrity, transparency and responsibility are its four pillars. The new Companies Act was enacted in 2013 in India with these principles at the heart of replacing the antiquated Companies Act which was in operation since 1956. In order to enhance transparency, provisions were included such as introduction of the concept of independent directors, elaborating on liability of promoters and formulation of whistleblowing mechanism.
Accountability through additional disclosure norms like development and implementation of risk management policy and corporate social responsibility as well as stringent measures for audit accountability were also laid down. Internal committees such as Audit Committee, Nomination and Remuneration Committee and Stakeholders Relationship Committee were created to fasten responsibility in a company’s decision-making processes.
Limits on remuneration of the key managerial personnel, protection of minority shareholders and investor protection were introduced to instil principles of integrity amongst the persons in charge of and responsible for the functioning of a company.
All startups are born out of wedlock of ideation and hard work of its founder(s). These founders are often young men and women driven by the passion to prove their idea was right and the desire to grow their companies to great heights. The lack of time, experience and business competence, however, often plays the perfect foil to their passions and desires. This is coupled with the fact that during the initial years, there are severe constraints of human resources and capital leading to lack of requisite advise and handholding by competent legal and accounting professionals. At times, over-emphasis on innovation, value addition to the product/service experience and customer satisfaction also play the spoilsport. As a result, corporate governance often takes the proverbial back-seat and at times even ignored in anxiety to look at the ‘big picture of making the company ‘look attractive’ to the potential investor.
Under the Companies Act, 2013 a private company can be created with the bare minimum requirement of two shareholders or even at times with a single person (one person company). On the other hand, a public company can be formed with a minimum of seven shareholders.
It may be borne in mind that startups mostly being founders driven opt for private limited company model as a closely guarded entity. Thus, it is possible to create a company without breaking too much sweat and the much shorter checklist of compliances for a private company, as opposed to public company, also ensures to be benefit of the founders of a startup. They are able to leverage the reduced corporate governance benchmarks with lesser scrutiny of their actions and decision making, their financial policies and disclosures and also their performance.
The ultimate goal of every startup to is secure multiple series funding from investors and venture capitals who are always looking for investment opportunities in lucrative startups at lower share valuation thresholds. The lack of emphasis on corporate governance through the formative years of a startup end up being detrimental to its long-term interests. Before staking its claim to the shareholding pie of a startup by putting its money on the table, an investor carries out a thorough due diligence which includes not just scrutiny of the books of accounts but also an inquiry legacy issues such as past and present decisions and disclosures, claims and complaints.
The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in the form of funding also brings with it a fair share of heartburns. Entry of investors into a startup’s ecosystem marks the beginning of the end of the reign of the founders. The number of shareholders necessarily increases which signifies transformation of the company from private to public. This transformation also results in sea change in the structure of the Board of Directors, the decision-making body which forms the heart of every company. There is an increase in number of directors with nominee directors of investors being appointed and also the entry of independent directors who seek larger say in the Board’s decisions and more transparency and accountability in the decision-making process.
At times, conflicting views on appointment of key managerial personnel of the company, continued functioning of the company under the charge of the founders and constant supervision of investors in a company’s decision-making process leads to a tug of war between the promoter/founder and the investors. Promoters/founders who run a tight ship from the very beginning with strong compliance track records, clean financial records and working through independent key managerial personnel find it easier to weather such storms.
Venture backing is the ultimate happy ending to every startup story. This also throws up challenges posed by shared rights and obligations of founders and the investors. Differences of opinion tend to increase over time because of the evolving stages of business and increased complexity of the capital structure. Corporate governance is the knight in shining armour that comes to rescue of both the founders and the partners at all stages during and after fundraisings. There is a saying that right begets right and wrong begets wrong. Following the sound principles of corporate governance will always enable a startup to make sound investments decisions, set out best practices in the form of rights and duties and obligations and liabilities ensuring its smooth functioning and growth.
It is estimated that there are about 600-700 agritech startups in India (IT industry’s apex body Nasscom last reported 450 in India two years ago) operating at different levels of agri-value chains…reports Asian Lite News
Not only for creating light shows as seen during the Beating Retreat ceremony, the government now focuses on drone technology to empower agritech startups, along with creating a skilled workforce for that via various Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).
In her Union Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that startups will be promoted to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’ through varied applications and for Drone-As-A-Service (DrAAS).
“In select ITIs, in all states, the required courses for skilling will be started,” she added.
Drone technology is an integral part of several agri-tech startups as these are used for crop assessment, digitisation of land records, spraying of insecticides and nutrients.
Filling the skill gap in this area is a revolutionary step for an agriculture-dominated country like ours, experts say.
It is estimated that there are about 600-700 agritech startups in India (IT industry’s apex body Nasscom last reported 450 in India two years ago) operating at different levels of agri-value chains.
Sushma Paul Berlia, Chairperson, National Council on Ease of Doing Business at Assocham, said that “virtual education as a tool towards filling the gap took place due to the pandemic in the last two years” and it is heartening to ensure minimum quality education is available to all – whether through skilling portals or “skilling courses through various ITIs”.
ITIs starting skilling courses is welcome for low-end skills.
“Polytechnics are the right place to start offering skill courses especially as skills of tomorrow are of a higher order. Polytechnics should also be allowed to offer advanced skill programmes,” said Chocko Valliappa, Vice Chairman, Sona Group of Education institutions.
Vipul Singh, Founder and CEO, Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS), said that the budget duly recognises the key role drone technology is playing in solving some really tough problems for sectors like land records, infrastructure, mining, disaster management, and agriculture.
“Furthermore, the announcement of Drone Rules 2021, the PLI scheme for the drone industry, and subsidies for drones to be used for agriculture applications have provided a fillip to the sector,” he said.
With the use of use of drones for land surveys and crop assessments, the government “seeks to leverage technology for enabling the next phase of sustainable socio-economic development of the nation”, said Nitin Bansal, MD, India Head-Networks, Market Area South East Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson.
The budget has covered multiple avenues for drone industry to rise, especially “promoting agricultural drones and NABARD fund to support startups will result in ensuring that the drone industry reach a new milestone”, said Swapnik Jakkampudi, Co-Founder, Skye Air Mobility, a drone delivery tech firm.
Vidit Aatrey, Founder and CEO of homegrown social commerce platform Meesho, said that a singular focus on augmenting offline MSMEs with online distribution could be a game-changing economic transformation opportunity…reports Nishant Arora
To further aid small businesses and empower entrepreneurs, the Union Budget 2022-23 should introduce additional startup-friendly policies and tax relaxations to enable spending on innovation, ease-of-doing business and reducing compliance costs, a slew of homegrown startups said.
New reforms, policy assistance and support mechanisms for establishing a focused approach in solving unmet financial needs through technology will significantly benefit the economy, they stressed.
“We’ve seen a substantial spike in the adoption of digital payments in the last one year. I’m hoping that in the upcoming Budget, the government will think of alternatives to the Zero MDR (merchant discount rate) policy, as that will help promote e-payments and drive significant digital adoption among businesses,” said Harshil Mathur, CEO and Co-founder, Razorpay.
In last year’s Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced Rs 1,500 crore to further accelerate digital payments’ growth in the country.
Mathur said that it would also be desirable for the government to increase contribution to the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS).
“Hassle-free loan disbursements, automation of tax and compliance, paper-less approvals, and incentives to adopt digital banking practices will also be welcome changes that can support the growth of MSMEs,” he added.
To incentivise startups, the government had last year extended the eligibility for claiming tax holidays for startups by a year to March 31, 2022.
It also extended the capital gains exemption for investment in startups by a year to March 31, 2022, to boost funding.
The country has also seen numerous startups incentivising their employees in the past year with buying back ESOPs.
“Deferring tax payments when exercising the option, plus waiving tax for some ESOP receipts, will also be a laudable change in the new budget,” said Mathur.
According to Ravish Naresh, CEO and Co-founder, Khatabook, they are hoping for a progressive Budget, especially aimed at promoting homegrown startups focused on problem-solving for India.
“New reforms, policy assistance, and support mechanisms for establishing a focused approach in solving unmet financial needs through technology will significantly benefit the economy,” Naresh told.
“In addition, the government’s continued focus on enhancing digital infrastructure in the country will ensure progress towards equality in digital access in FY22-23,” he added.
In the last year’s Budget, the government had said it will facilitate setting up of a world-class fintech hub in Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) city.
The government also proposed a portal to collect relevant information on gig workers to help formulate social security schemes for them.
Vidit Aatrey, Founder and CEO of homegrown social commerce platform Meesho, said that a singular focus on augmenting offline MSMEs with online distribution could be a game-changing economic transformation opportunity.
“We would like to see the government focus on policies that will create a level playing field for offline and online sellers with less than Rs 40 lakh turnover,” Aatrey told.
“Simplifying GST compliance requirements for online sellers will also enable millions of small businesses to leverage the potential of e-commerce and contribute to India’s growing digital economy,” he added.
In addition to this, the startups hope that the government incentivises capital formation in the area of logistics and cold chains through policies and infrastructure development.
Akash Gupta, Co-founder and CEO, Zypp Electric, said that they are optimistic that the government will announce new initiatives to encourage local EV manufacturing, facilitate easy finance and create an innovative EV ecosystem.
“We urge the government to reduce GST on EV purchases and rentals from 5 per cent to 2 per cent. A reduced GST would allow consumers to smoothly shift to EV,” Gupta told.
Indian startups raised a record $24.1 billion in 2021, a two-fold increase over pre-Covid levels, while $6 billion were raised via public markets with 11 startup IPOs, a Nasscom-Zinnov report said last week.
The Indian tech startup base continues to witness steady growth, adding over 2,250 startups in 2021, which is 600 more than 2020.
Sixteen start-ups pitched innovative ideas to global investors as part of the India Innovation Hub, reports Asian Lite News
Sixteen start-ups showcased their entrepreneurial spirit and pitched innovative ideas and scalable business solutions to investors from the UAE and the world over at the seventh edition of the ‘Elevate’ pitching series held recently.
Among the sixteen participants, six start-ups were from India, while nine were based out of the UAE and one was from the Netherlands. The Founders and Co-Founders of these start-ups presented their scalable business ideas to the investors highlighting solutions across sectors such as Technology, Health-tech, Agri-tech & Food Processing, Vocational Skills, Sustainable Energy Storage, Fintech and Edutech, among others.
‘Elevate’ series is a key initiative of the India Pavilion at EXPO2020 Dubai that aims to display unconventional solutions created by 500 Indian start-ups over five months under the India Innovation Hub umbrella and is supported by HSBC.
Dr. Aman Puri met Dr. Juma Al Matrooshi, DG, DSO and Mr Ghanim Al Falasi, Senior VP, Technology & Entrepreneurship,
Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus
and discussed the opportunities for the collaboration of India Innovation Hub with DSO & Dtec.
The event saw representation from various investors, financial institutions, family offices and HNWIs. The event was crucial to the start-ups as it gave a global stage to the founders to pitch their ideas before global investors. Some of the start-ups, which presented their business ideas include, Kamaxi Skills, which provides high-quality culinary training and soft skills to students with an aim to make India the culinary skill capital of the world; Panacea, a deep learning and hard-coded hybrid software designed to optimise the virtual learning experience for people of determination; Offgrid Energy Labs, a deep technology IP led company that has innovated in design, materials of batteries; PJP Tailorsmart Services Private Limited, an E-commerce platform for young and budding designers and Miracle Boocha, a wellness brand that aims at educating and promoting the health benefits of Kombucha, an ancient fermented beverage from the East among many others.
As part of the session, start-ups also learnt about the latest sectoral trends and participated in specially designed sessions with leading corporates along with fireside conversations with newage entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors.
Dr Aman Puri, Consul General of India in Dubai and Deputy Commissioner General of India at EXPO2020 said, “We are proud that startups from India as well as several other parts of the world, including the UAE and Netherlands have participated in this Elevate session. These sessions are becoming a viable platform for innovators and start-ups from various countries and can be a huge opportunity for investors from the UAE and across the globe.”
“We are glad that our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has declared January 16 as ‘National Start-up Day’. There is a huge emphasis on start-ups in India and we have several start-ups that we are hoping will turn into unicorns this year,” added Dr Puri.
The Indian start-up ecosystem today has over 60,000 DPIIT-registered start-ups from 628 districts across all 28 States and 8 Union Territories. India ranks in the top 50 countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII) and is the 5th most start-up friendly country in the world (leading in Asia). Embodying the true spirit of a self-reliant India, and despite the extreme challenges posed by the global pandemic, 42 new unicorns came into existence in India, taking the total number of unicorns to 82. Today, India is the country which in 2021 is amongst the top three creators of unicorns in the world.
The event was attended by eminent dignitaries including Shri K. Kalimuthu, Consul (Eco & Com), Consulate General of India, Dubai; Mr Antony Jos, Executive Director, Joyalukkas Exchange; Mr Pramendra Garg, CEO, Yas Holding; Mr Kamal Vachani, Group Director, Al Maya Group; Mr Kuber Rai, Managing Partner, Corniche Capital; Mr Venkatesh Mahadevan, Chief Information Officer, Dubai Investments; Mr Sanjay Siroya, Director, Belgium Diamond Jewellery; Mr Chandra Sen Hada, Head Investment Operations, Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) & Mr Varun Sharma, Investment Associate, Wamda Capital among others. The next Elevate session will happen on 27th January 2022.
India’s 82 unicorns are currently worth more than $168 billion with a total funding of over $38.4 billion, reports Nishant Arora
As we celebrate the phenomenal rise of Indian startups, especially in the last two years, a number of global macro-economic factors served as tailwinds to help achieve this feat.
The global pandemic resulted in a digital transformation and adoption of technology at a societal level. Moreover, tech sector regulatory changes/crackdowns in China, availability of large pools of private capital were all positive factors for the Indian startup ecosystem to grow and produce a record 40 unicorns in 2021 alone.
Today, India has 82 unicorns with total funding of over $38.4 billion (from 2014 till December 4, 2021).
India emerged as the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world this year, after the US and China, according to Hurun Research Institute.
AIM Startup PR image
In the third quarter (Q3) this year, Indian startups received record fundings, with investment totalling $10.9 billion across 347 deals, according to PwC India.
India’s unicorns are currently worth more than $168 billion.
The last two years witnessed the coming of age of the Indian startup ecosystem. The two seminal events that served as distinct markers of this were the IPOs of food delivery platform Zomato headed by Deepinder Goyal and software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Freshworks run by Girish Mathrubootham.
“Another factor that contributed to making the Indian startup ecosystem click was startups truly turning into an asset class. This resulted in the sector attracting interest and capital from a larger and diverse pool of investors, including retail — the subscription levels of PolicyBazaar, Nykaa, et al stand testament to this,” Sijo Kuruvilla George, Executive Director, Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), said.
According to K.R. Sekar, Partner, Deloitte India, the demand and customer base for India is huge and an improved network and better telecom policy will further pave the way for the growth of startups.
“The IPO market is also booming in India and a lot of unicorns are planning for IPO, both in India and the US. The government has also addressed some of the teething challenges on direct tax on startups. However, the success of startups and growth is dependent not only on the market, but also on the policies of the government,” Sekar said, adding that the government should further relax the regulatory compliances and make India more attractive for investment in startups.
Going forward, SaaS-based EV and Blockchain startups can herald further momentum for the ecosystem in 2022.
According to Kushal Nahata, CEO and Co-founder of SaaS startup FarEye, the firms have started adopting technologies like SaaS solutions that provide much-needed agility and speed to fulfil the ever-changing demands of the customers.
“SaaS has also become a hot category for investors so there is an availability of a lot of capital. This along with the pandemic-driven surge in e-commerce, the rapid shift of businesses to online and the need for innovation has caused the Indian startup ecosystem to explode,” Nahata said.
Over the past five years, the number of software-as-a-service (SaaS) firms have doubled in India and SaaS firms in the country are poised to reach $30 billion in revenue by 2025.
India now has 13 SaaS unicorns and between seven and nine companies with over $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). The investments in Indian SaaS companies rose to $4.5 billion in 2021 — an increase of 170 per cent from 2020, according to management consulting firm Bain & Company.
“Our aim is to empower businesses to provide Amazon Prime-like delivery experience and redefine how products are delivered across diverse logistics networks,” said Nahata.
Niraj Singh, Founder and CEO of used car retailing platform Spinny that has become the youngest unicorn, said the pace of growth is at an all-time high with innovation and technology leading the way to find solutions for every problem and every smart idea is invested in today.
“This has grown significantly in the last couple of years, especially during the pandemic as, people seek better options to meet their needs and value purpose and quality service. There is a sea of opportunities with the ongoing momentum in the startup ecosystem in India,” Singh said.
Although massively under-penetrated when compared to the US and China, online penetration of food services market, especially e-grocery, in India is set to grow two times by 2025 with the right tailwinds — it is likely to clock a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $13 billion, according to RedSeer.
Shan Kadavil, CEO and Co-founder, FreshToHome, said that in the sub-segment of e-grocery, they have seen a huge shift in consumer behaviour who trust brands that give hygienic, direct from the source food products free of chemicals.
“Our business growth of nearly 5x in the last two years is a testimony to how the startup ecosystem has fared in India in the recent years,” he said.
“The pandemic was a watershed moment in accelerating the shift towards online purchase habits and digitisation across all industries in India,” he added.
Kunal Shah, Founder of CRED, said that for the next round of growth, one needs to work towards driving the participation of women in the workforce.
“The GDP expansion and building a robust startup ecosystem is much harder when half the population doesn’t work. To make this happen, we need to introduce interventions across education, opportunities, and social/financial support for women to join the workforce,” Shah emphasised.
