London to host India – UK startup fest in March 2017

By Raaghav G R

Posted on November 17, 2016

Start – up entrepreneurs from India and the UK would assemble on the banks of the river, Thames in London during March 2017 for the first such international startup fest organized by the governments of both the countries. As a part of its ambitious, ‘Stand Up India Startup India’ scheme, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi – led government plans to host two such fests each year, one in the country; the other at England, a country known for its mature start – up ecosystem. The purpose of the fest is to boost the startup sector in India by issuing quicker regulatory clearance and greater exposure for entrepreneurs. The UK – India Chief Executive Officers’ (CEOs’) forum was held in Delhi, early this year. About thirty CEOs from both the nations met to explore business partnership opportunities. It was decided at the forum that they would approach their respective governments and propose that London be selected as the venue to host this year’s startup fest since England has a more mature startup ecosystem than India. “There were elaborate discussions on the benefits to start – up ecosystems in both the countries through mutual cooperation. The UK has a more mature start-up ecosystem. A tie-up with and learning from their culture would help our entrepreneurs immensely. Hence, it was decided to propose London’s name as the venue”, said a person who had attended the forum meeting. Read more on Startups Ecosystem

Entrepreneurs, angel investors and heads of incubators from both the countries are expected to take part in the event. “Successful entrepreneurs from both countries will be requested to participate in the event”, a government official said. This, according to the government, will help to develop a vast alumni network of successful start-ups or faculty of institutions, housing incubators. “Peer-to-peer learning between the two countries will be getting a boost,” he said. The forum meeting took place as part of the British Prime Minister, Theresa May’s maiden India visit from November 7^th to 10^th. During the meeting at the forum, there were discussions about increasing tie – ups, funding, mentoring and access to infrastructure. “There will be huge mutual benefit if such tie-ups can happen. Most of the incubators or early stage start-ups are housed in educational institutions in India. Investors from the UK will get access to them. Similarly, Indian start – ups will benefit from mentorship and capital offered at discounted rates from a mature ecosystem such as UK”, said Rajeev Sanghi, head of Gruber Angel Network. As many as 571 budding entrepreneurs filed applications till June 24^th, this year, with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion for recognition of innovative start-ups to provide tax exemptions and other benefits. In January, Prime Minister Modi unveiled a slew of incentives to boost start – ups, offering them tax exemptions for three years and a regulation – free regime for three years, capital gains and Rs. 10,000 crores loans to fund them. India has the third – largest number of start – ups in the world.

Innovative startups are the need of the hour as far as India is concerned. The startups in India are booming, but would help the Indian economy a lot better, if they are incubated, mentored, funded and given better exposure and access to technical know – hows. They could learn a lot from the more mature UK startup ecosystem as well as from established entrepreneurs from both the countries. Exchange of ideas, loans at attractive rates and access to technical know – hows and infrastructure will give a huge boost to the start – ups in India. It is good to see that PM Modi’s ‘Stand Up India Start Up India’ scheme is being implemented through fests like these. The fact that this international fest is going to be held twice every year is even better. Read more on Startups News

London to host India – UK startup fest in March 2017