Bengaluru Ranks 23rd In Global Startup Ecosystem List; Delhi On 36th

The Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2021 from Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) stated that Bengaluru ranked 23rd compared to 26th in 2020 in the global startup ecosystem ranking, in a report released on Wednesday.

Delhi ranked 36th, tied with Melbourne, Bern-Geneva and Dublin.

Mumbai retained its position as the top emerging startup ecosystem globally ahead of cities like Copenhagen, Jakarta, Guangzhou and Barcelona. Mumbai led on account of parameters like startups in the ecosystem performing well, raising funds easily and access to talent. 

Many Asian ecosystems performed well on the cost of tech talent. Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru (Karnataka), and Delhi also demonstrated strong talent access and high quality of solutions, as did São Paulo in Latin America, stated the report. 

In 2021 alone, 26 Indian startups entered the unicorn club. With $26 Bn raised in the first eight months of the year, the total startup funding in India in 2021 is already 2x the highest recorded annual funding tally of $13.2 Bn seen in 2017. In H1 2021 (January to June 2021), Indian startups raised $10.8 Bn raised over 614 funding deals, and 338 deals have been recorded since then, coming to an average of over five deals per day from July 01, 2021-August 30, 2021.

The Pandemic Impact On Indian-Chinese VC ecosystem

The amount of venture capital flowing into the US companies in 2020 was down to 51% from 84% in 2004, according to the National Venture Capital Association. In China, which began its pandemic recovery relatively quickly, investments rose steadily, reaching more than $37 Bn in the first five months of 2021, according to GlobalData.

“Prior to the pandemic, tech entrepreneurship in both countries was on a tear, with Chinese tech startups peaking in 2018 at almost 80% of Asia’s  total (funding) and India’s peaking in the first half of 2020 at almost 30%. Chinese venture funding dropped by about 40% in the first half of 2020 but has since recovered completely, while India, in contrast, was hit badly by the Delta variant. Total venture funding into Indian startups in the first half of 2021 dropped almost 50% compared to last year,” wrote Paul Ark, advisor, Gobi Partners, a global VC.

India is currently playing catchup with China, investing heavily in consumer sectors such as grocery, food delivery, gaming, and edtech, he added.

The global startup economy created over $3.8 Tn in value between January 2018 and June 2020, more than the individual GDP of most G7 economies. There are now 79 ecosystems generating over $4 Bn in value which is more than double the number identified in 2017.

The democratisation of tech created more than $540 Bn in value in the top 100 emerging ecosystems between 2018 and the first half of 2020, a 55% increase from 2017 and the first half of 2019.

Global Startup Ecosystem Rankings

The #GSER2021 ranks startup ecosystems on seven success factors, including performance and talent. Despite a turbulent year for many, the top five global startup ecosystems maintain their reign at the top, with Silicon Valley in the top position, followed by New York City and London tied for second position for the second year in a row. Beijing and Boston follow at 4th and 5th positions, respectively. 

North America continues to dominate the global rankings, with 50% of the top 30 ecosystems coming from this region, followed by Asia with 27% and Europe with 17% of the top performing ecosystems globally. There’s one new entrant to the Top 10 global startup ecosystems – Tokyo, at 9th position, up 6 places from 2020. 

Among the top 40, four ecosystems have climbed the ranks. Philadelphia moved up by an impressive 15 ranks from 43 last year to 28 while Toronto-Waterloo, Seoul, and Montreal have climbed 4 ranks to respectively reach the 14th, 16th and 35th rank. 

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