The Indian startup revolution is not limited to metros anymore; one-fifth of applications for a Startup Expo being organised by Lufthansa Airlines and The Indus Enterprise have come from smaller towns.

Out of 34,000 applications for the one-day expo in Gurgaon this weekend, about 20% came from towns like Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and states like Rajasthan and Kerala. This is the highest-ever participation from smaller towns in India, according to the German airline that is supporting the project.

Even as participation from smaller cities have grown, data shows that bigger cities like Delhi and Chennai continue to be big contributors.

Both Lufthansa and Tie said the focus of this startup expo was to reach the interiors of India and give them representation. Startup Expo, which was conceived in October last year, is expected to see participation from women entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, student entrepreneurs, service providers, and technology and food entrepreneurs.

“It was a conscious decision to focus this expo on smaller cities, women, youth and startup companies that can bring social impact,” Geetika Dayal, Executive Director, TiE Delhi-NCR, told. Lufthansa said the expo is aiming at providing opportunities to entrepreneurship abilities. “There is a lot of entrepreneurship abilities even in smaller cities and towns in India but they rarely get a platform. With this initiative we are providing opportunity to them as well,” Wolfgang Will, Director – South Asia at Lufthansa, told.

The expo is likely to be attended by business experts such as Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Vice Chairman at Naukri.com; Deep Kalra, Founder and Group CEO at Make My Trip India Pvt Ltd; Alok Mittal, Founder of Indifi Technologies; and, O P Manchanda, CEO at Dr Lal Path Labs Pvt Ltd.

The expo is happening at a time when the Narendra Modi government is supporting entrepreneurship in India with the Startup India drive. The expo also has the support of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), which is the nodal ministry for the Startup India initiative.

According to an industry report, India is the third largest base for startups in the world with over 3,000 startups registered in the country and over 800 coming up annually. By 2020, India is expected to be a home of 11,500 startups, employing over 250,000 people.

Source: The Economic Times