The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is organizing the first-ever Startup India Innovation Week from 10th -16th of January 2022.  This virtual week-long innovation celebration aims to commemorate the 75th year of India’s independence ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and is designed to showcase the spread and depth of entrepreneurship across India.

Interestingly, in the startup world, 2021 has been recognised as the ‘year of unicorns,’ with 40+ unicorns added in the year.

India is emerging as a global innovation hub, boasting the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. DPIIT has recognised more than 61,000 startups as on date. Our startups representing 55 industries, spread across 633 districts with at least one startup from every State and UT of the country have created over 6 lakh jobs since 2016. 45% of the startups are from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and 45% of them are represented by women entrepreneurs. Startups have the potential to accelerate India’s integration into global value chains and create global impact.

This startup and innovation festival’s primary goal is to bring together the country’s key startups, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, funding entities, banks, policymakers, and other national/international stakeholders to celebrate entrepreneurship and promote innovation. Furthermore, to exchange knowledge on nurturing startup ecosystems; to develop entrepreneurial ecosystem capacities; to mobilise global and domestic capital for startup investments; to encourage and inspire the youth for innovation and entrepreneurship; to provide market access opportunities to startups; and to showcase high-quality, high-technology, and frugal innovations from India.

With participation of States/UTs and various departments of Government of India, the week-long programme will address key aspects of the startup ecosystem through interactive sessions, workshops, and presentations based on themes such as Academia & Mentorship Support to Startups, Incubation and Acceleration Support to Startups, Market Access through Corporates & Government to Startups, and Funding & International Avenues to Go Global. In addition, based on the identified themes, there will be various parallel activities such as Experience Booths, Pitching or Reverse Pitching Sessions, and Innovation Showcases.

The link to the registration for the event is https://www.startupindiainnovationweek.in

Highlights of the week-long celebration are:

•               Hon’ble Prime Minister’s interaction with startups

•               Result Declaration of National Startup Awards 2021

•               Launch of Doordarshan Startup Champions 2.0 show

•               Roundtable with Global Investors and domestic funds

•               Launch of Open Network for Digital Commerce Digital Strategy

•               Participation by Ministry of Education, Niti Aayog, Office of PSA, DBT, DST, MeitY, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, among other departments, in various sessions.

•               Launch of ‘Fisheries Startup Grand Challenge’ by Department of Fisheries

•               Pitching sessions and corporate connect programs for startups from across the country.

New Delhi (3rd October 2022): India is all set up to host the mega World Startup Convention, one of the World’s Biggest Startup Funding festivals. The Convention will be held from 14th January to 16th January 2023 at the posh Unitech Golf and Country Club located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The World Startup Convention is said to be a massive gathering of the leading Entrepreneurs, Enablers, Founders, Creators, VCs, Agencies, Marketers, Retailers, Influencers, Designers, Investors, Students, Explorers, Franchises, Mentors, Incubators, Accelerators, Service Providers, Investment Bankers, Policy Makers, Advisors and many other prominent people from various sectors.

The Convention is expected to witness the presence of numerous distinguished personalities like Narendra Modi (Hon’ble Prime Minister of India), Gautam Adani (Founder & Chairman of Adani Group), Sheikh Hamdan (Crown Prince of Dubai), Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla Motors), Sundar Pichai (CEO of Google) and many more. The event will also have a gathering of delegates from 50+ countries across the globe. Additionally, 1,20,000+ Startups, 1500+ VCs and 9000+ Angel Investors are likely to be a part of this mega World Startup Convention. The registrations for the events have commenced and the Convention is the biggest once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as the attendees will get to avail numerous benefits by being part of the World Startup Convention.

The attendees will not just have the opportunity to listen to the valuable insights from the leading pioneers of the various sectors but they are also likely to have the chance to build a solid business network at the event. This will also be an opportunity for attendees to fundraise post pitching their startup idea to major VCs from around the globe. One of the best aspects of the grand World Startup Convention is that it also has Cash Prizes p-to ₹20,00,00,000 ($2.5M) for participants in various startup competitions in different categories. Lastly, the World Startup Convention is said to be a major platform for entrepreneurs and founders to launch or relaunch their startups and gain huge traction on a global scale.

Last year, Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, declared January 16 as the National Startup Day, and this year, India celebrated the 75th Independence Day under the initiative Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. As India marked 75 years of its Independence, the World Startup Convention is all set to celebrate National Startup Day announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2022. With the World Startup Convention, India is all geared to host the world’s biggest startup funding festival with an aim to invest over INR 1 Lakh Crore into the startup economy. The aim of the grand-level convention is to ensure that no Startup is left behind and the target of an international investment of INR 100,000+ Crore is achieved through this event.

https://www.financialexpress.com/brand-initiative/india-all-set-to-host-worlds-biggest-startup-funding-festival-world-startup-convention/2699537/

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1788760