Startup India: How has it helped Entrepreneurs Realize the Value of Innovation "PM Modi himself has proved that he is an entrepreneur of the best kind by tackling the problem of converting India from an outsourcing hub into an innovation destination
By Sneha Banerjee •
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The Startup India Campaign completes a year today on January 16th. This campaign, helmed by the Modi government, was aimed at encouraging the spirit of entrepreneurship in the country. The initiative was unanimously lauded last year as it came with a slew of programs to simplify the process of "starting up.'
2016 saw several startups shutting shops, giving a clear indication of the only way to survive in the ecosystem was to have a sustainable business model. Last year also witnessed the inflow of funds from corporate MNCs and government-backed agencies – validating the enormous potential of this sector.
Funding with a purpose
Artha Group CEO Suresh Rangarajan said, "The eight unicorns gained perspective on product development as they were challenged on their own turf by their global competitors. Funding was consolidated during the year, as investors became more cautious, leading to a funding winter syndrome. From 3 to 4 start-ups being launched in a day, the trend moved to 3 to 4 startups shutting down in a day. A classic case of survival of the fittest were only those startups which had the potential to disrupt the start -up ecosystem in the country have lived on to see another year."
Amalgamating healthcare and technology
"...it was easy to raise the first round of angel funding, the future rounds are tougher, as entrepreneurs ideas are more scrutinized. To add, Startup India plan has been progressive for the start-up industry; the funding deals in the start-ups have increased by 27% in 2016 and start-ups in India were able to close more than 800 deals across different segments. Further, the increase in the number of investors will help to end the year on a high note, and it will gain. The amalgamation of healthcare and technology has proved to be exceptional for the Indian start-ups," Himanshu Bindal, CEO & Founder, One Internet.
Simplifying regulations
Commenting on the initiatives, Rangarajan said, "The most noteworthy development was in the regulatory and investment space with the Start-up India campaign launched by the Government of India taking shape."
Orahi's association with Startup India program started on 11th July 2016. The company enrolled themselves under the Startup India initiative and was pleasantly surprised to receive Startup India Certificate just in two days.
The office was buzzing with lot of energy. There we met a team of Startup India program. All these individuals had excellent understanding of startup echo system and came from top colleges and consulting firms. We spent time in explaining our concept, which was very interactive. We answered all the questions. At the end we were asked about what additional information and help we needed from Startup India team. We got information that we were looking for. Overall our experience in interacting with Startup India team has been very good," Arun Bhati, COO & Founder, Orahi said.
Putting Indian entrepreneurs on the global map
"PM Modi himself has proved that he is an entrepreneur of the best kind by tackling the problem of converting India from an outsourcing hub into an innovation destination," Zippserv founder Debashish Hota said.
Industry estimates have revealed that India has around 19,000 startups, making it the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. This can be attributed to government policies, a strong funding ecosystem, guidance from academicians and the utter brilliance and courage that Indian entrepreneurs have displayed. These factors have unleashed the potential of our start-up ecosystem, propelling India to the spot of the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, making it a hotspot for foreign capital inflow as well, which is partly because of the low taxation rates offered as part of the Startup India Campaign, Muki Regunathan, Co Founder of BookMyTime.
While the mission has completed a year, it has established a sense of seriousness and confidence in the startup ecosystem. The involvement of the government only goes to show the demand of innovation and novel entrepreneurship methodologies in India. With other ambitious intiatives like Digital India and Make in India, it will be interesting to see the prosperity of the ecosystem in the coming years.
