India is a strong community and hopefully all its growth drivers and a strong community sentiment will help India become the most lucrative startup destination of the world.
Statistical data imply not only a tremendous growth in startup culture in India but indicate the existence of startup friendly policies by the government at the centre like Atmanirbhar Bharat and Start Up India as well as at state levels. Along with policy intervention, the positive mood for the startup sector has been ushered by internet connectivity, digital revolution and entrepreneurial enthusiasm.
Various surveys and reports conducted globally unanimously conclude that India is on an accelerated path of startup growth. As per the survey done by the CEO World magazine, India ranks 5th globally as “Most Friendly Start Up Country”, based on factors like availability of technical workforce, investment in upskilling the workforce, investment in R&D capabilities for driving innovation, infrastructure and favourable policy framework. As per the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 by Startup Genome, Bangalore has been ranked 23rd globally with Delhi being ranked 36th. The key factors that Startup Genome considered while ranking the cities across the world have been funding, connectedness and knowledge. According to NASSCOM, India has emerged as the third largest startup ecosystem after the US and China.
The Internet penetration in the country is likely to touch 900 million by 2025. Currently at 622 million users, wider internet outreach is opening up huge job opportunities for Indian businesses and entrepreneurs. This has resulted in the growth of startups in the areas of e-commerce, thus making Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra the top three online shopping destinations in the last three months. Incidence of Covid-19 and intermittent lockdown have also boosted the rise of startups in the edtech space. Right from Unacademy to CRED, the edtech space is buzzing with startup unicorns. Another sector in the startup industry that has leapfrogged due to internet penetration is the mobility space. Uber and ANI Technologies (Ola) have emerged as mobility giants among the startups.
Digital revolution aided with internet penetration has helped the small and medium businesses to grow, expanding their customer base across the globe. With growth in technology over the last few decades and investment to bring on innovation, the cost of building digital products has reduced. This has brought the companies closer to their customers. Understanding the needs of the customers, interacting with them and offering accordingly at very minimal costs have all resulted due to digital revolution. In yester years companies had to invest in physical infrastructure to interact with the customers, which resulted in high customer acquisition costs that scaled down the margins and profitability of the small businesses.
Nurturing an entrepreneurial culture has also been the focus of the government to encourage startups. Launching courses and short programmes to upskill the youth and professionals towards a path of entrepreneurship have increased manifold, the latest one being the launch of Business Blasters programme by the Delhi government. Also startup friendly policies have encouraged the venture capitalists to invest in the startups with confidence. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Governmenr of India is celebrating the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Week and as part of this initiative it is fostering entrepreneurship among selected states and Union Territories of India like Assam, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Gujarat, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand. Various startup summits, webinars are planned to have deep impact on the entire startup ecosystem in India. Programmes on themes like knowledge on trademarking and patents, investments, marketing, mentorship, regulations, procurement, community building etc are supposed to equip the entrepreneurs to scale up their business.
Startups thrive in an environment where they get support from the entire community. India is a strong community and hopefully all its growth drivers and a strong community sentiment will help India become the most lucrative startup destination of the world.
Source: Business World
