Why India Inc needs to be a launchpad for startups

Technology has changed the way in which young India thinks today. And, the changing thought process has given birth to new lifestyle and even career trends and to fill this requirement an innovative startup culture has caught on in India that is all set to transform the country and push it into the modern age. Significantly, this burgeoning culture by young-Turks of India is being supported by the government. This is being done through regulations and incentives like the MUDRA Bank scheme, an initiative which aims to provide micro-finance, low-interest rate loans to entrepreneurs from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Similarly, several state government's have also initiated certain programs to support the startup culture. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who launched the Startup India initiative on August 15, 2015, has expressed confidence in the abilities of the startups to change the face of India. He said the startup ecosystem will help India to emerge as a $5-trillion economy, a target set by his government.

Startup

The most important part in a startups journey is the initial seed of the idea. That idea, if if it germinates, has explosive potential to change vast tracts of the economy or at least the segment that it is targetting. However, these ideas end up being restricted either in the mind itself or due to lack of support or guidance, it dies an untimely death. To ensure this does not happen, much more is required to be done. While the government has taken various significant steps, the private sector too needs to raise its hands and come up with a suitable support infrastructure that promotes startups. 

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This is certainly the right time for India Inc to raise its hands and, like foreign companies, including Softbank and Google, among others, should come out to support these ideas and individuals to grow. India Inc can support them by either funding their ideas or by guiding and grooming those young minds. Earlier in August, Google invited early-stage startups to apply for the third batch of Launchpad Accelerator India. The programme mentors early-stage startups on various aspects of their businesses like technology, product strategy, marketing, UX/UI and leadership. Similarly, SoftBank, headquartered in Japan, has invested US$2billion into Indian startups and has pledged to invest US$10 billion.

A report by TiE-Delhi-NCR and Zinnov, titled 'Turbocharging Delhi-NCR Start-up Ecosystem', says NCR-Delhi is a home for more than 7,000 start-ups, which accounts to 23% share of start-ups in India while Bengaluru had 5,234, Mumbai 3,829 and Hyderabad 1,940. Appropriate interventions, recognition and appreciation can help the country to emerge as a $5-trillion economy in the foreseeable future.

To be sure, if India Inc adds to government initiatives to promote startup culture, literally, the sky is the limit as far as Indian economic growth is concerned. 

Keeping this in mind, on its part, to promote the startup culture as well as recognise those who have done extraordinarily well, Zee Business brings the second edition of its awards initiative to recognize the shining stars who have gone through the startup period and transformed themselves into Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These are the companies that have worked assiduously to boost India's position as the best performer among emerging economies. 

This exclusive initiative is the Zee Business Dare to Dream Awards powered by SAP Season 2. Notably, these are companies with an annual turnover of a minimum Rs 100 crore, but not exceeding Rs 4000 crore in FY 2018-2019.

Note: Log on to https://www.growthmattersforum.com/dare2dreamawards/ to nominate your organisation / any member / yourself, or register as an attendee. 8 cities. 7 award categories. Enroll now.