STARTUP: A CHANGE AGENT FOR
TRANSFORMING INDIA FROM WITHIN
Mithilesh Kumar Sinha | Professor Of Economics, Department Of Economics, Nagaland University,
Lumami-798627, E-mail:- [email protected]
PROLOGUE
O
n January 16, 2016, the Prime Minister
announced India's new national startup policy under the “Startup India”
programme stating “if India has millions of
problems, it also has billion-plus minds to solve
them” and aiming to tap into India's much
celebrated entrepreneurial spirit. He announced
Rs.10,000 crore corpus fund for start-ups and a
credit guarantee scheme for Rs. 500 crore a year
for four years. Tax exemption on capital gains
and income tax holiday for three years were
among the other big-bang incentives announced
to “promote growth and profit”. Currently India
churns out 1,500 tech and several hundred nontech start-ups each year, a number that has
tr ipled since 2005. Tapping into this
entrepreneurial goldmine gives form to
innovation and can boost India's stalled
economic prospects by creating wealth and jobs.
Twenty to thirty years ago, almost all tech start
ups were created in startup ecosystems like
Silicon Valley and Boston. Today, technology
entrepreneurship is a global phenomenon, with
startup ecosystems similar to Silicon Valley
rapidly emerging all around the world. When
these start-ups grew, they directly impacted
growth of their cities as well. Employment
opportunities for youth increased and new
employment patterns came into picture.
Economic Challenger// ISSN 0975-1351/ April-June 2016
I
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE OF STARTUPS
All 20 ecosystems grew in total number of startups over the last few years. The predominant
startup ecosystems are still located in North
America and Europe, occupying 16 of the top 20.
Ten North American ecosystems are now in the
top 20, versus seven in 2012. Six European
ecosystems made it into the top 20, one more
than in 2012, with Amsterdam emerging as a
strong newcomer.
Silicon Valley continues to dominate. The Bay
Area, which is practically synonymous with high
growth technology start-ups, has again achieved
top rankings in Performance, Funding, and
Talent—making for an overall ranking of #1. The
only component where it is not ranked #1 is
Market Reach, where it is #4.
Startup ecosystems in Asia have grown
significantly, highlighted by Singapore moving
from #17 to #10 and Bangalore from #19 to #15.
Sao Paulo is the only Latin American ecosystem
in the top 20. The city has an abundance of
venture capital in its ecosystem but very few
exits, with this lack of liquidity events likely to
incur stifling growth.
Growth in the top 20 Canadian ecosystems has
slowed relative to the rest of the world. While
Startup Output grew, though at a rate slightly
below average, exit value has remained fairly
stable and venture capital investments
Statrup : A Change Agent for Transforming India
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