Amitabh Kant asks Startups not to be Dependent on Govt. Procurement

New Delhi (29/06/2023): Amitabh Kant, India’s G-20 sherpa, said on June 28 that entrepreneurs should avoid becoming “dependent” on government procurements and instead focus on the potential given by domestic and export markets.

Kant also advised males to adjust their views towards women and transfer wealth in the name of women to address the issue of gender inequity at a youth conference held by the IMC Chamber of Commerce.

Both the Union and many state governments are optimistic about assisting companies with startup procurements. The government e-marketplace (GEM) includes a dedicated startup runway’ exhibiting startups’ offerings, and constraints are relaxed in many circumstances to enable buying from startups.

Kant said, “I am personally against governments getting into too much of startups…the dynamism of startups should be in the marketplace. The startups should not get themselves too dependent on govt procurement.”

He stated that entrepreneurs should concentrate their efforts on the big home market and export markets, while the government’s role should be confined to facilitating the flow of funding to startups through schemes such as fund of funds, which it has done.

Addressing the problem of gender disparity, Kant stated that empowering women and supporting their inclusion and entrepreneurship is critical for unlocking untapped talent, but admitted that access to money remains a serious challenge.

He further said, “In India and South Asia, mothers put wealth in the name of their sons, not in the name of their daughters. There has to be a cultural shift. If you are able to shift the wealth in the name of the women, in a decade you will see women doing very well in India and all over the place.”

He described the South Asian area as “lax” on “unity of any kind,” and demonstrated how the economy have suffered as a result. Kant stated that intra-regional trade, as well as travel and tourism, may benefit all countries economically, using Europe as an example where tourists and trade flow easily across geographies for the general good.

He believes that by creating money in neighbouring countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan through travel and tourism, Indian tourists may assist and promote growth.