33 Indian startups selected for Global Exposure and Funding Mission
33startups were shortlisted from over 700 applications received from various states, 19 startups are from new cities
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Hyderabad: Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) and Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) have announced the list of 33 ICT startups, who will participate at the global exposure and funding mission in the USA. Out of these 33startups, 19 are from new cities.
The selection has been through a rigorous process,which included shortlisting from over 700 applications received from various states, scrutiny by experts, selection of over 100 top startups for a final presentation in front of Jury Panels at the National Conclave of ESC-STPI Startup initiative – Building the Next Unicorn recently held at New Delhi.
Sandeep Narula, Chairman, ESC, said: "This continuing joint initiative of the ESC and STPI, has generated a groundswell of interest among participants and was curated by Grant Thornton (GT) and the selected startups will be given an opportunity to travel to the US for an interface with top venture capitalists, top technologists, representatives of ICT industry and academia, which will enable them to pitch for technical cooperation, funding, and joint ventures with US partners to take their startups to the next level. "Sandeep, adds: "The initiative was equally supported by the respective State Government and various stakeholders of the startup ecosystem in the country."
The startup's hail from all across India, and a good number of them are from tier 2 and 3 cities, giving credence to the fact that there is an all-India surge in the number of startups, ideations, and innovations that do not have any physical boundaries. The selected startups particularly from states like Odisha, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and of course, states where ICT has made a big difference like Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.
"Our efforts in ESC are to create an enabling situation for startups to grow in the country and to build confidence and business sense among them to become world players and in the process to develop a unique startup ecosystem in India where ideas from all quarters are recognized and nurtured.' says Sandeep, adding that the structure ESC has created is a dynamic and continuing one, which can help the proliferation of ideas and how to commercialize them.
The selected startups are working in diverse ICT fields, such as agriculture and food processing, artificial intelligence, IoT, household utensils, healthcare, fashion technology, travel, fintech, Edutech and the list is very comprehensive. Importantly, while selecting the final list of candidates, ESC officials along with senior functionaries of Grant Thornton had travelled across the country to select startups and held interfaces with them to collate first-hand information about their operations, ideations, and the commercial appeal of their setups. Finally, a finale was held in New Delhi recently, where the Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics & IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw addressed the finalists from across the country and exhorted them to chase ideas that are innovative and pathbreaking and assured all possible support of the government in their efforts.
One of the most significant challenges that Startups face when planning their global expansion is a lack of funding. Establishing relationships on the ground with local business growth agencies and institutions can assist Startups in connecting with the local ecosystem. This will also help them build relationships with the venture capitalists and investor communities in an effort to find ways to bolster their financial stability. The current initiative aims to address two important issues for the Indian Tech Startups i.e. providing them with global exposure and bolstering their financial stability.
The selected startups will be taken to the US for interfaces with top venture capitalists and US investors. While the selected startups have been advised to complete their travel formalities, the Council has also initiated a dialogue with the Union Ministry of External Affairs seeking their intervention to organize a priority appointment for selected Startups, says Gurmeet Singh, Executive Director, ESC.
