The government aims to improve India’s global ranking in terms of innovation, and hopes the Startup Mahakumbh will provide a boost in this regard, RK Singh, secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, said on the eve of the three-day event which begins on Monday.
“India ranks at 40 in terms of innovation and our goal is to move up from this. Our aim is to make Startup Mahakumbh not just a big event but also an annual event, which can further propel the growth of the Indian startup ecosystem. The event aims to unite innovators nationwide and transform it into the largest global event of its kind,” Singh said at a press briefing in Delhi.
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He was joined by organising committee members of the Startup Mahakumbh, including Info Edge India co-founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Sorin Investments chairman Sanjay Nayar and Accel India partner Prashanth Prakash, in addition to Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal.
Startup Mahakumbh is expected to attract thousands of startups and investors across ten key focus areas – artificial intelligence and software-as-a-service, agritech, business-to-business and manufacturing, biotech and pharmaceuticals, climate tech, deeptech, direct-to-consumer, gaming and esports, fintech, and incubators and accelerators.
The event is expected to see participation from more than 40 unicorn startups, or those valued at over $1 billion, including founders of companies such as Lenskart, Boat, Dream11, Oyo, Razorpay, Zerodha, Acko, Moglix, Urban Company and Nykaa.
Accel’s Prakash highlighted that each of the ten pavilions will have an underlying theme of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it could be used to accelerate growth. He said the event will look to help not only younger startups in terms of enabling access to investors, mentors and other key stakeholders, but also mature startups on how to enable exit opportunities for their investors.
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He cited the example of CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti, who built and exited the omnichannel jewellery retailer to Titan Company within a decade. Sacheti will also be speaking at the event.
Role of larger corporates
As startups look for a diverse set of sources for funding, Info Edge India’s Bikhchandani said India needs a higher contribution of investment from corporates and business conglomerates in new ventures.
“Venture capital funds or angel investors are only one part of sources of funds for startups… there’s a huge scope for private sector companies to invest from their balance sheets into startups. Typically they would do it in their own strategic areas… but I think India could do with more of that,” Bikhchandani said. “There is some participation and support (from larger corporates) this time in Startup Mahakumbh. Hopefully, in future years there will be more.”
On February 27, Zomato’s Goyal had said that established businesses need to nurture and invest in startups but without an intention of owning them.
