'Startup Mahakumbh': India's largest gathering of startups, investors, and entrepreneurs set to kick off in Delhi

Over 1,000 start-ups, more than 500 incubators, hundreds of investors, and delegations from over 10 different countries will assemble for a three-day mega startup event 'Startup Mahakumbh,' set to kick off in the national capital on Monday.

Organisers said on Sunday that this event will now be an annual affair.

Being organised at the Bharat Mandapam, this event will be a first-of-its-kind in terms of vision and magnitude. 

Key global and Indian stakeholders such as unicorn startups, global and domestic venture capitalists, corporates, and industry leaders will also participate.

As many as 23 states will participate in this event and will showcase their startup ecosystem and policies. A few investors from the popular reality show Shark Tank will be present at the event over these three days.

With the central theme 'Bharat Innovates,' the event will also feature leadership talks, panel discussions, workshops, and a host of exciting activities for startups as well as future entrepreneurs.

The event will also host a Future Entrepreneurs Day on March 20, with a focus on cultivating the entrepreneurial spirit among students. The Future Entrepreneurs Day is expected to gather close to 5,000 individuals handpicked by colleges and incubators nationwide for their inclination towards entrepreneurship.

At the event, there will be 10 distinct pavilions showcasing the latest trends, technologies, and insights in their respective fields.

Startup Mahakumbh is being organised by ASSOCHAM, NASSCOM, Bootstrap Incubation and Advisory Foundation, TiE and Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), and supported by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Ahead of the main event, the organsing team hosted a press conference today, giving an overview of the three days of Startup Mahakumbh.

Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Co-founder and Executive Vice Chairman, Info Edge, delivered the opening remarks, emphasizing the evolution of the Indian startup ecosystem over the past decade. From the surge in venture capitalist investments to the proliferation of unicorn success stories, he highlighted the journey to a pivotal stage, underscoring the necessity of a unifying apex event like Startup Mahakumbh.

Startups that would assemble for this event would be able to network with, try to organise funding from, and getting mentoring, said DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh told ANI.

"The idea is for them to learn the what the options are. There are government funds available through SIDBI, seed funds scheme, as well as the fund of funds, and there are many others. There is a fairly active venture capital ecosystem in the country all of whom would be represented there at the Mahakumbh," said the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade secretary.

India ranks at 40 in terms of innovation and the 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," the DPIIT secretary said.

Archana Jahagirdar, Founding and Managing Partner, Rukam Capital, and is part of the organising committee, told ANI that it is an interesting time to be in India and there is a great synergy between the government and startups.

"I think there is so much on offer for all the startups, young startups especially, because there is an understanding of how incubation works. There'll be VCs, there'll be angel investors, you can see how unicorns have built their businesses and come to the point that they've come to," Jahagirdar said.

"I think, and there'll be also an understanding of how the government is thinking, different states are thinking, what are their startup policies. 

For a startup who is trying to understand this entire ecosystem, there could not be a better place than Startup Mahakumbh to be at. 

So there will be a lot of, there's a matchmaking tool, there will be a lot of investors there and the that we've got for startups, the idea for that is as a showcase so that investors can be going and meeting the founders and see their products and services, what is it that they're building and typically from an event like this, you know, those connections really lead to investments eventually."

India has the third largest startup ecosystem and now it is the endeavour to become the best and this event is that direction.

"This event is part of that initiative and we are aiming to bring together its subsystems and components together on a single platform. Collaboration between them will boost the startup ecosystem," said Sanjiv Singh, Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

Among other things, to further demonstrate the capabilities and opportunities within the Indian gaming and E-Sports industry, the E- Sports pavilion at Startup Mahakumbh is organising the Esports tournament of Real Cricket and Sachin Saga with a total prize pool upwards of Rs 100,000.