Ahmedabad: Gujarat will come up with a comprehensive startup policy this year that would be an extension of the policies already in place. Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation vice-chairperson D Thara said the new policy would be better and more practical. Existing policies will not be discontinued, she clarified.
The state is home to startups like Infibeam, Lendingkart, Let’s Recycle, Axio Biosolutions and Trukky. In last one year, some 30 investment deals have been struck in Gujarat, mainly through angel funding.
Ecommerce player Infibeam became India’s first ecommerce startup to get listed raising Rs 450 crore. Fintech firm Lendingkart has raised $40 million from investors like Bertelsmann India, Darrin Capital Management, Mayfield India, Saama Capital and India Quotient.
In 2015, the state came out with startup-assistant schemes that were part of the larger Gujarat Industrial Policy. Last year, it brought in a more focused Information Technology Startup Policy, while two days ago, the state announced India’s first student startup and innovation policy.
A seminar to get suggestions from the startup community was held on the second day of the Vibrant Gujarat summit in Gandhinagar where some 100 experts recommended incentivising large corporates to invest in startups.
“To create an ecosystem, we need to engage all players. We feel private sectors should be incentivised to provide funds, mentorship in form of time. They can open their R&D labs through connected incubators,” said Shriya Damani of coworking space DoubleO.
The seminar also favoured creating a mechanism for more fund flow and embed creativity from secondary school level to boost startup culture. Initiatives like Reward Actionable Initiatives that Stimulate Enterprises (RAISE) were also suggested for identifying and supporting agencies that can stimulate startups in the state.
The state government has roped in The Value Web, known for organising Davos World Economic Forum, to facilitate the seminar and find solutions to the existing challenges through a participatory approach. The primary suggestions will be collated and submitted to the government.
The 100 participants were divided into twelve groups, each group tasked with deciding upon a single major challenge faced by the startups in Gujarat and engaging into discussions to emerge with probable solutions.
“Action Seminar like this will immensely help startups as well as government to have structured policies in the states. That will boost the culture of innovations and IP-based entrepreneurship,” said Jatin Trividi, a senior IPR lawyer from Ahmedabad.
Experts at the seminar opined that providing incentives to large corporates would encourage them to provide funds, mentorship as well as physical space, through incubators and accelerators. Other groups suggested free flow funds from local angel investors, successful entrepreneurs, mentors, industrial houses, banks and academicians. The groups also insisted on policy support.
Source: The Economic Times
