The inaugural session highlighted the need for collaboration between various stakeholders like entrepreneurs, industry, academia, government and investors to further improve the efficiency of the startup ecosystem in India. The session also focused on the importance of convergence and collaboration between the BIMSTEC member states to further develop their startup ecosystems

The Virtual Startup Showcase was hosted for two days on the Summit platform. It was an exhibition of exemplary and innovative startups from across India as well as the BIMSTEC member states. The virtual showcase provided the startups with a unified global platform for exhibiting their products & services and the opportunity to connect and network with the key stakeholders of the ecosystem.

The session focused on global best practices on nurturing strong startup ecosystems which facilitated the exchange of information on various initiatives being adopted different counties including BIMSTEC member states. It also highlighted the role of a dedicated startup policy in nurturing local innovations.

In this session, women entrepreneurs, who are the change-makers and leaders in their respective areas, discussed the need for promoting women entrepreneurship through conducive policies that would mobilize the untapped aptitude and immense potential of women entrepreneurs.

Leading experts/ startup founders from BIMSTEC member states came together to share their experience and guide the young minds on how to convert an Idea to Proof of Concept, involving the need to customize the idea based on target audience and customer feedback.

The session focused on the ingredients of a robust Go-to-Market strategy with an emphasis on internationalization for startups to put themselves on a growth trajectory.

The virtual startup pitching session aimed at creating value for startups by providing access to sources of funding and an opportunity to pitch to world-class investors. The startups received feedback from the panel of investors not only on their execution strategies and developmental roadmap but also on financing, sales, and marketing as well as building a competitive edge in the market.

The session focused on knowledge sharing of discussion of different perspectives between incubators from different countries. It also highlighted initiatives and activities adopted by the Governments to support incubators and the essentials of managing successful incubation programs.

This session covered the role and impact of social innovations in addressing real-life problems in India and other nations. The panelist also shared the success stories of startups that are creating awareness on social challenges and innovative endeavors required to solve them.

The discussion in this session focused on understanding the market access barriers and means for overcoming the same, various avenues available for startups in terms of procurement. It also provided the insights into the various government initiatives undertaken for ease of public procurement from startups.

Marquee global speakers talk about their journey as an entrepreneur. The session celebrated the triumph of grit and determination in the face of numerous challenges, with the star speakers narrating from their real-life experiences of taking calculated risks to achieve success. The speakers also divulged their inputs on the way forward for the Indian startup ecosystem.

The Roundtable focused on mobilizing global capital for Indian Startups and promoting ease of doing business for global venture funds. The session was attended by all major Indian regulators, policy makers, ministry leads and Global VC Funds from USA, Japan, Korea, Singapore as well as Indian Global Fund Managers.

The session revolved around recalibration of the activities under the Startup India Initiative. Along with DPIIT, innovations by various state governments and central government ministries that have been imperative to drive the growth of startup ecosystem in the country were also highlighted.

The panel discussion highlighted the pioneering work done by specific states and the key drivers of the state startup chapters, while also discussing the best practices of these states in achieving the desired results and the way forward to boost entrepreneurship in their respective states.

A panel discussion engaged in identifying the next set of reforms and interventions for propelling the Indian startup ecosystem towards greater heights and the need for capacity building for a strong startup ecosystem.

Conducted with leaders of unicorn startups, the discussion featured their journeys, learnings, sectoral insights and their vision for the next set of Indian unicorns and the startup ecosystem at large.

The interactions in this session discussed the relevance for a national strategy for impact investments and the importance of growth capital to for-profit social enterprise through dedicated government funds and schemes. The session also explored innovative financial models to improve effectiveness of public and philanthropic spending.

The session covered VC, PE, Startup industry recommendations aiming to enhance the availability of domestic capital for Indian Startups. Other discussions covered the overview of the startup and growth capital ecosystem along with the role & view of family offices, HNIs, Corporates, India Inc & Corporate VCs on Investing in Startups & AIFs.

The initiatives and activities adopted by Educational Institutions and Government Institutions to support student entrepreneurs were highlighted in the session, further emphasizing how both set of institutions can support budding entrepreneurs and help them thrive.

A discussion focused on the successful models (in India and overseas) of industry-academia partnerships to boost entrepreneurship while highlighting the technologies that have come out from the academic institutions/R&D labs, into the market, in response to the pandemic for benefit at greater scale

The session witnessed the discussion of various mechanisms relevant for creating a better enabling environment for key stakeholders of the startup ecosystem, thereby, allowing cross country collaboration by adoption of the best practices of mature startup ecosystems.

The session highlighted the need for global market access for Indian startups – key initiatives taken and in the pipeline. Also discussed were leading bilateral programs that have been launched by representing countries to help Indian entrepreneurs.

This speaker series saw some of India’s most powerful and influential women highlighting their journeys as women entrepreneurs mentioning the opportunities biases and challenges present. Potential ways to increase access to funding were also discussed while highlighting the support for networking and mentorship opportunities for women entrepreneurs in India.

As a conclusion to the two-day Startup India International Summit, Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi graced the summit with his presence to interact with some promising young entrepreneurs and he was also presented with key highlights of the dialogue that took place between various speakers during the course of the two-day summit.