PM to interact with Startups and address ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’ today

With a focus to reimagine the importance of convergence and collaboration between countries to further their startup ecosystems, Day 1 of Prarambh: Startup India International Summityesterday brought some of the leading minds from around the world on one platform. They deliberated on issues and topics ranging from technologies, innovation, robust policies and initiative. It enabled government and international organizations to share their views to ignite the minds of young innovators and entrepreneurs. The 2-day event is being organizing by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, M/o Commerce & Industry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with startups and address the Summit today at 5 p.m. via Video Conferencing.

The two-day summit was yesterday inaugurated by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry where he addressed a gathering of innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, regulators, industry leaders, and academic luminaries from India and across the world including BIMSTEC countries and also launched the Virtual Startup Showcase.

Day 1 of the Summit saw over 1,20,000 registrations and was devoted to host dignitaries and stakeholders from BIMSTEC member States. The Summit witnessed participation of renowned stakeholders from startup communities of BIMSTEC member states who engaged in multilateral discussions and showcased the best of their innovations. The day also saw non-stop pitching by 54 enterprising startups with 75 investors.

A marathon of sessions focussed on various aspects of global best practices and nurturing stronger startup ecosystems, bringing together experts/ startup founders from BIMSTEC Member countries to share their experiences and guide young minds on how to convert Ideas to Proof of Concept, building robust go-to-market strategies and leveraging Social Innovation. Key stakeholders of the ecosystem also discussed strategies on building successful Incubation Programs and enabling more avenues for Procurement &Market Access for Startups.

A closed door roundtable was also hosted with emphasis on internationalization for startups and mobilizing global capital for Indian Startups while promoting ease of doing business for global venture funds.The roundtable was attended by major Indian regulators, policy makers, Ministries and Global VC Funds.

Day 1 was graced by leading industry leaders, from the wider innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems from across the world including  Kris Gopalakrishnan (Chairman and Founder, Axilor Ventures), Ms.ShobanaKamineni (Executive Vice-Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise),  Deep Kalra (Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip),  Manoj Kohli (Country Head – Softbank India), KunalBahl (CEO & Co-Founder, Snapdeal) and many more.

There was a special session “Star Talks” with Ms.SheerenBhan, Managing Editor, CNBC TV-18 in exclusive conversations with  John Chambers, Former Chairman & CEO, Cisco and  Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman, Hero Enterprise. The session also included a special chat with Ms. Priyanka Chopra Jonas, leading actress.

Prarambh: Startup India International Summit marks the fifth anniversary of the Startup India initiative launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 16, 2016. The Summit is built on the foundation set through the 19-point action plan of the Startup India initiative in 2016.

The event is supported by Industry bodies Invest India, FICCI, Indian Angel Network, IVCA, TiE Delhi NCR, CII, NASSCOM, SIDBI, TiE Global and International Finance Corporation.