Since the beginning of the current decade, India’s technology startups have demonstrated impressive growth that has already brought the country to third place in the world only behind the acknowledged industry leaders: the US and Israel. This is what the latest NASSCOM-Zinnov report titled ‘Startup India – Momentous Rise of the Indian Startup Ecosystem,’ discusses. NASSCOM Head of Research Achyuta Ghosch offers his insightful look into the roaring Indian startup environment in this article written specially for BRICS Business Magazine.
In today’s India, there are more than 4,200 startups from various fields, including digital (social networks, mobile technologies, analytics, cloud computing), hi-tech (augmented reality, Internet of Things, robotics), and ‘verticals’ where blank spots are identified and solutions are developed for specific areas (education, medicine, finance, advertising). We have covered the special aspects of the country’s start-up ecosystem in our report called “India as a platform for start-ups. A remarkable rise of the Indian startup ecosystem”, which was prepared by the NASSCOM Association and Zinnov, one of the leading consulting companies in the Indian high-tech sector. We are going to introduce our readers to the most interesting findings of our study on the pages of BRICS Business Magazine. Our report focuses on 2015 – a highly successful and, in some ways, landmark year for the Indian startup ecosystem.
The startup ecosystem in India is young, innovative, aspirant, and futuristic, and since the beginning of the decade, it has virtually exploded. To put things in perspective, India had only 480 tech startups in 2010. Tech startups by definition include any business in the domain of technology incepted within the last five years, is headquartered in India, or has founding team with Indian origins along with product development largely in India.
Here are some key highlights of the Indian startup industry – and its emerging hotbeds of innovation:
So what is really driving this dream? Increasingly, the number of investors, including global ones, who are parking funds here; a growing digital user base; mobile-first population; and a supportive government that recognizes the role of startups, are clearly some of the top of mind drivers.
This maturing startup ecosystem is contributing to the Indian economy in multiple ways. In addition to enhancing the lifestyle of citizens, startups are creating innovative technology solutions that address key problems that India as a country faces, and are empowering SMBs by enhancing their customer reach and overall business productivity.
The meteoric rise of tech startups and their contribution is unparalleled. This has much to do with the fact that young entrepreneurs are able to think big, and view India’s challenges as billion-dollar opportunities. Power shortage in India lead to an annual loss of $68 billion); impact of infrastructure congestion is estimated at $10 billion; India only has one doctor for 1700 patients; over 120 million rural households do not have access to bank accounts; agricultural productivity is abysmal in India (48% of agricultural yield compared to other Asian countries); and impact of technology will imply a huge skilling challenge in India, with 500 million people required to be skilled in the next five years. A vision that has captured popular mindshare of the startup community is that these challenges, if addressed, can transform the nation beyond recognition.
It is encouraging to see global investors interested in large deals, upward of $500 million. In the B2C segment, hyperlocal e-commerce and aggregators presently command a lion’s share of the pie. But in the B2B segment, especially those in niche segments and providing solutions to the former, are close on the heels. Robotics, 3D printing, and machine learning are the other emerging whitespaces for the future.
The ecosystem is not just cognizant but supportive of this change in equal measure. This is evidenced by the fact that incubators, accelerators, and the like are mushrooming. The triad – academic institutions, the government, and corporate houses – provides support to this part of the value chain admirably, be it physical space or knowledge dissemination. Often, both.
The period from 2014-15 has seen some large exits, instilling positivity and confidence in the investor community. Over 65 acquisitions this year signal a maturing startup ecosystem in India. An improving environment for doing business – these are the main reasons for a rush of venture capital into India over the last two years. Now, there’s another pull factor growing stronger: exits.
Exits, mergers, and acquisitions are important for investors as they help them to reinvest into new startup ventures. Their risk appetite goes up, too, as exits mitigate worries over getting caught up in a valuation bubble. And it is not just the number of exits that matter, but their size, too.
With over 65 M&A deals already in 2015 – worth close to $800 million (which excludes several deals with undisclosed value), – India has shown the signs of positivity and confidence in the global market. More importantly, some of these have been big-ticket exits instilling investor confidence in the Indian startup ecosystem.
Thanks to active government support and the building of the necessary infrastructure, in particular as part of the Start-Up India program, the country’s startup industry is growing at an impressive pace. By 2020, more than 11,500 tech startups would get established in India, generating employment opportunities for over 250,000 people. Key indicators, such as opportunities existing in the domestic market, access to capital/mentors, increased M&A and consolidation activities, and the increasing digitalization of India clearly point toward the further evolution of the ecosystem.
The startup industry in India is benefiting from holistic policy support, driven by the Startup India initiative. The initiative can be captured through the below framework, and serves as a role model for other countries to adopt. Here they are:
Catalyzing the entrepreneurial journey
Coaching, mentoring, and incubation
Capital, credit, and tax breaks
Assistance in building connections
