At ‘Startup Mahakumbh’ curtain-raiser, Goyal calls sector backbone of nation

India’s startup sector has proved its capability to innovate with ideas across mobility, food, and textile sectors, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said at the curtain-raiser event for next month’s ‘Startup Mahakumb’.

Goyal said the ‘Startup Mahakumb’, to be held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi from 18-20 March, will “bring together 57 diverse startup footprints across the country on a single platform.”

Indian startups are “changing the rules of the game and therefore the startup sector is the backbone of the nation,” Goyal said, citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

‘Startup Mahakumb’ marks the beginning of an annual event that provides a platform to showcase the success stories and revolution of the ecosystem since its inception in 2016, Goyal said.

The minister asked the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to continue efforts to promote startups through financial and logistical support and see to it that at least one startup from each district gets represented at the ‘Startup Mahakumb’.

Industry bodies Assocham, Nasscom, Bootstrap Incubation and Advisory Foundation, global non-profit The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), and Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) will organize the Startup Mahakumb.

The event aims to connect budding startups with a spectrum of inventors such as venture capitalists, angel investors, family offices, and high net worth individuals – as well as potential corporate partners.

The galaxy of participants includes more than 1,000 startups, over 10 thematic tracks, about 1,000 investors, more than 500 incubators and accelerators, at least 5,000 conference delegates, including those from more than 10 countries, future entrepreneurs and about 40,000 business visitors.

Apart from DPIIT, the event is backed by the department of commerce, India Trade Promotion Organisation, Small Industries Development Bank of India, government-e-marketplace, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India and Zomato.

“Throughout the three days, startups will be able to engage with investors, and relevant stakeholders and create a sub ecosystem to support each other with ideas and learn from the experience of others,” Goyal said.

“We will also see participation from students to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship, spirit of inquiry and help them go back with confidence and talk about the New India and the story of emerging India,” he added.

Startups taking part include those from a spectrum of sectors such as artificial intelligence, software as a service, consumer brands, aggrotech, fintech, deep tech, biotech and pharma, incubators, climate tech, e-sports, and business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing.

Currently India hosts 10,244 fintech entities, the third largest in the world. The number of startups has grown from about 300 in 2016 to over 117,000 in 2023, generating more than 1.24 million jobs, according to data from DPIIT.