Rise & Rise Of The Great Indian Startup Ecosystem: Inc42 Ecosystem Summit To Break It Down Brick By Brick

The Great Indian Startup Ecosystem, which traces its growth all the way back to the nineties, has taken quantum leaps to emerge as the third largest in the world and has witnessed the launch of an estimated 50,000 startups over the years, just behind the US and the UK. Indian entrepreneurs are building world-class technology startups, attracting global investor interest and churning out successes and unicorns at a rapid pace.

However, as the ecosystem has grown, so has the noise. With India on the global map, it was imperative that someone brought some semblance of organisation and structure in this vast ecosystem, while bringing together its stakeholders for fruitful discussions on the path ahead. And who could do it better than yours truly — the authority on the Indian Startup Ecosystem.

As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating — here we are, expressing our commitment to the ecosystem in the best way possible. Inc42 is organising The Ecosystem Summit — an invite-only summit curated to bring together an unparalleled group of CEOs, founders, investors, and industry experts to help cut through the noise and decode the massive Indian Startup Ecosystem.

The Great Indian Startup Ecosystem

2018 has been a year of great highs for the ecosystem — the total number of startups touched 50,000 startups, homegrown ecommerce unicorn Flipkart was acquired for $16 Bn by the US retail giant, Walmart; half way through the year, four more Indian startups gained the coveted unicorn status. In view of this spiralling growth, it is as good a time as any for this deep dive into the industry.

The Summit itself is a key initiative in Inc42’s vision to bring all the stakeholders under one roof to foster collaboration, the exchange of ideas, and synergies. It is further envisaged as a platform that will facilitate conversations to further globalise the work done by Indian startups and recognise their contribution to the community, through the special report curated by the in-house team of Inc42.

The Summit will see the accompanying launch of our flagship report — The State of Indian Startup Ecosystem 2018 — in which we have filtered and encapsulated the essence of our years of expertise and insights on India’s startup and technology ecosystem with the goal of facilitating a deeper, perspective-driven understanding of the industry.

The Great Indian Startup Ecosystem: 3 Decades Of Ascent

The year was 1993 — the software service industry took off in India with Infosys getting listed on the BSE and the NSE, the ecosystem started taking baby steps with a little under 50 startups and less than 10 funding rounds amounting to just over $500,000. The focus sector was IT. A decade later, in the year 2007, the dotcom era arrived. This was the real start of the startup ecosystem in India with 5,000-7,000 startups participating in about 100 funding rounds, raising a total of $100 Mn. Here’s a quick walk down memory lane:

Launching The Ecosystem Summit Website

While the summit itself will we held in November, today, we’re launching the official  website for The Ecosystem Summit 2018 to give you a sneak peek into some of the key elements of the summit:

Head over to 42ecosystem.com for more details and to apply to get early access to the summit. Oh yes! The URL has been chosen very carefully and for a reason – let us know if you have any theories behind it in the comments below 😉

The Ecosystem Summit by Inc42 is an invite-only summit with limited slots for only 250 handpicked delegates. You can leave your details on the website to stay updated on the agenda, schedule, speakers, and announcements for this mega summit.

Key Elements of the Ecosystem Summit: What’s In Store

Here’s a rundown on the axis the Summit will revolve around to help you understand our mission and approach to facilitating a cohesive, holistic view of the ecosystem.

Report Launch

The exponential growth of the Indian startup ecosystem, along with its vast diversity, has also brought along a lot of noise and confusion. With the view of facilitating an in-depth understanding of the ecosystem, Inc42 has filtered and encapsulated the essence of its years of expertise and invaluable insights in its flagship report, The State Of Indian Startup Ecosystem 2018.

The report will serve as the go-to-guide for the Indian startup ecosystem. It will provide deep, data-driven insights to help influence strategic decision-making in governance, investments, growth, and other core pillars.

The Lists

Inc42 will be unveiling two lists – 42 People That Matter In The Indian Startup Ecosystem and 42 Most Innovative Startups at TES – which will serve as the most definitive source for recognizing the people and organizations that are transforming industries and shaping the society in India.

These lists are our annual encyclopedia of creative disruption featuring 100’s of influencers, startups and businesses. Their contribution to India’s massive digital transformation and their impact in their respective fields of work compelled us to recognize their efforts at The Ecosystem Summit.

Fund & Business Launches

Launching a support system for the startup community never felt this exciting. Are we really doing this? Buckle up for a few major surprises – while we work to build a more connected ecosystem at the community level, we are bringing more change drivers to fuel it too.

For the first time ever, we bring to you a set of new funds and international companies that will be launching at The Ecosystem Summit 2018. What better place to launch than in the presence of the movers and shakers of the ecosystem.

The Startup Showcase

If entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of an economy, consider Inc42’s lists as it’s circulatory system. The showcase will highlight some of the fast-growing innovators featured in our “42 Most Innovative Startups” list.

Interactive Panels, Presentations, Expert Sessions & More

The Ecosystem Summit will handpick just 250 people from the Global and Indian Startup ecosystems – Startups, Investors, Corporates, and Policy Makers to explore growth, investment opportunities and insights about the Indian digital market.

It will be a day packed with forward-thinking, actionable sessions, market insights, upcoming trends & sector deep dives, legal & policy bootcamps, cross border opportunities and more!

So, this November, come one, come all to The Ecosystem Summit by Inc42, where we will help you connect the dots, meet the movers and shakers of the ecosystem, help you identify trends, and bring you actionable insights to take your startup game to the next level.

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.