Jobs Galore: Indian Soonicorns Have Created 1.26 Lakh Jobs To Date

Indian unicorn startups have been through turmoil over the last two years as the funding winter wreaked havoc. The biggest casualty of this has been the employees, as these startups resorted to layoffs to cut costs, increase their runways and turn profitable.

As per Inc42 data, multiple unicorns, including BYJU’S, Ola, Unacademy, Blinkit and Vedantu, have laid off thousands of employees since the start of 2022. 

Regardless of this, Indian startups which are part of the coveted unicorn club employ over 4.5 Lakh individuals directly, as per Inc42 data. The same is true for India’s future unicorns. Having raised over $15 Bn and cumulatively valued at over $40 Bn, Indian soonicorns are playing an important role in creating jobs in the country. 

According to Inc42’s ‘Unicorns Of Tomorrow: Decoding India’s Soonicorn Landscape Report, 2024’ report, 112+ future unicorns in the country have created more than 1.26 lakh jobs to date. 

Ecom Express is the largest employer among soonicorns, boasting 10,990 employees. The logistics giant is followed by proptech startup Square Yards, which has a workforce of 7,458 employees. Fintech platform FINO PayTech took the third spot with 5,030 employees.

Besides, nearly 90% of the employment opportunities have been created by soonicorns based in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR.

Fintech Soonicorns Lead In Job Creation

With over 35,000 jobs, fintech soonicorns have emerged as the biggest employment provider among the future unicorns. While FINO PayTech leads the pack in this category, it is followed by Mswipe with 2,295 employees, Turtlemint with 2,080 employees, and Navi Technologies with 1,949 employees.

Further, 15 of the 36 fintech soonicorns employ over 1,000 individuals each.

In terms of job creation, the fintech sector is followed by ecommerce, which boasts 19 soonicorns. Country Delight leads the pack with 1,257 employees, followed by Pepperfry with 1,209 employees, and Jumbotail with 1,191 employees.

At the third position is the enterprise tech sector. The 13 soonicorns in the sector employ 9,573 individuals. Hackerrank leads this list with 1,696 employees, followed by Whatfix with 1,087 employees, Capillary Tech with 1,041 employees, and BetterPlace with a workforce of 1,038.

Meanwhile, media and entertainment and edtech sectors individually account for 7 (6.3%) soonicorns each. In terms of employment, the media and entertainment sector employs 4,395 individuals, while edtech employs 9,209 people.

Additionally, various other sectors collectively account for 26.8% of the jobs created.

Soonicorns Continue To Bank On ESOPs To Lure, Retain Talent 

Like most startups, soonicorns too continue to bank on employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) to attract and retain their employees. For instance, Bengaluru-based community and security management startup MyGate recently announced an ESOP buyback for 51 employees. SaaS Soonicorn Classplus also launched an ESOP buyback program, which will benefit over 150 employees.

Jupiter, Bizongo, Porter, FarEye, Homelane, Ninjacart, Citymall, and Niyo are among the soonicorns that initiated liquidity programs in the last two years.

According to Inc42 data, Indian startup employees made $196.5 Mn through ESOP buyback programmes in 2022.

Triple Hundred For Unicorns In India? 

The number of unicorns in India is expected to surge to over 280 by 2030 from 114 currently. This rise is expected to be led by fintech, ecommerce, and enterprise tech soonicorns.

While the fintech sector is estimated to produce 36% of the new unicorns, ecommerce and enterprise tech sectors are at the second and third position, respectively. While ecommerce is seen producing 17% of the new unicorns, the number stands at 11.6% for enterprise tech.

While the ongoing market correction has made startup jobs less lucrative and the market volatile, the hopes of funding revival and improvement in the financials of Indian startups is expected to open up many more job opportunities in the near future. 

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