Startup ecosystem in India

In July, The Global startup ecosystem index 2022 was published by the Israel- based Startup-Blink. In this index, Bengaluru ranked first in India and eighth globally in the startup ecosystem. In the APAC region, Singapore topped the list, followed by Australia, China and India. In the number of startups, India is the third largest in the world, after USA and China. There is a drastic increase in the number of unicorns. As of September 2022, 23 startups have gained unicorn status this year, although the total number of active unicorns has reduced to 84. A unicorn is a privately owned firm with a market capitalization of more than USD 1 billion. They are entities dedicated to providing creative solutions and new business models. They create disruptive innovations, for example, Physicswallah, Mamaearth, etc. Most of them are software-based, consumer-focused and provide affordable goods and services. The rapid growth in unicorns is due to several strategic and conditional reasons like government initiatives like startup innovation challenges, national startup challenges, ranking of states on support to the startup ecosystem, etc. The adoption of digital services and digital payments has boosted this growth. But there are challenges too. Only increasing investments do not ensure the success of a startup. Indian investors are unwilling to take risks. The need of the hour is that the Indian corporate sector should foster entrepreneurialism. The role of angel investors is critical in this respect because they have to build synergies in impactful technology solutions and sustainable and resource-efficient growth.