Funding Support For
Tech Start-ups In India!
W
ith over 7,000 Start-ups, of which 1,200 were added in just
2018, India continues to rank as the 3rd largest start-up
ecosystem in the world, only after China and The USA. This
is as per the latest NASSCOM-Zinnov report “Indian Start-up
Ecosystem 2018: Approaching Escape Velocity”. With India fast
emerging as a global start-up hub, Indian Tech start-ups cannot
be far behind.
Multiple factors are spurring India’s growth in the Tech start-up
sector. The number of advanced technology start-ups increased
by 50% from 2017, with Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and
IoT (Internet of Things- which enables everyday objects to have
network connectivity) witnessing the fastest adoption. The year
2018 saw resurgence in investments along with the dramatic
growth of advanced technologies in the Indian start-up
ecosystem. It also witnessed a record jump in the number of
unicorns (a start-up company that reaches a $1 billion dollar
market value) in a single calendar year. The NASSCOM data
shows that the volume of India’s tech start-up ecosystem is
centred over 6 cities in India, with Bengaluru taking the lion’s
share of the tech pie. Mumbai and New Delhi are coming up a
close behind, while Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai are also fast
rising on the Tech entrepreneurial scene. Interestingly, women
entrepreneurs form a paltry 6% of the founders.
A large number of Indian Tech start-ups are entering the
growth phase and are looking to raise capital. Although,
start-ups in India have seen over a 100 per cent growth in total
funding from USD two billion in 2017 to USD 4.2 billion in 2018
(as per the NASSCOM report), there is a decline in funding for
companies at the seed stage. But there’s still hope.According to
US, start up database CB Insights, India ranks 3rd, after the US
and Israel, in global tech start up exit activity (start-ups getting
acquired) in the first half of 2016.Tech Start-ups seeking help to get their business off the ground
have a number of options when it comes to funding and support,
which we have tried to cover via this article. A growing number
of funds, angels, and support organisations such as incubators,
accelerators, event platforms and academic programs support
the Tech ecosystem. Though majority of the Venture Capitalists
are International giants, a number of Indian VCs have also played
a crucial role in identifying, mentoring and diverting money to the
emerging sectors of Indian Tech start-up market.An increasingly popular option is choosing to join an accelerator
or incubator, which supports new businesses and offers financial
support. Rookie entrepreneurs who don’t have industry connect
can benefit immensely from such platforms.