Startup Mahakumbh’: India’s largest startup gathering set to kick off in Delhi

A three-day event, showcasing over 1,000 start-ups, more than 500 incubators, hundreds of investors, and delegations from over 10 different countries, is set to begin in the national capital on Monday.

The event, named “Startup Mahakumbh,” is being organized at the Bharat Mandapam by ASSOCHAM, NASSCOM, Bootstrap Incubation and Advisory Foundation, TiE, and Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA). It is supported by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Twenty-three states will also participate in the event, themed “Bharat Innovates”, with the aim of promoting their startup ecosystem and policies. Additionally, investors from the popular reality show “Shark Tank” will also be present.

The event will feature leadership talks, panel discussions, workshops, and several activities for startups as well as future entrepreneurs.

Startups attending the event will have the opportunity to network, seek funding, and receive mentoring, said Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary of DPIIT.
“The idea is for them to learn about the available options. There are government funds available through SIDBI, the seed funds scheme, as well as the fund of funds, among others,” he said.
Singh pointed out that India currently ranks 40th in terms of innovation. “The goal is climb higher,” he said.

“There is a fairly active venture capital ecosystem in the country that would be represented at the ‘Mahakumbh’,” Singh said.

“Our aim is to make “Startup Mahakumbh” not just a big event but also an annual event, which can further propel the growth of the Indian startup ecosystem. It aims to unite innovators nationwide and transform into the largest global event of its kind,” the DPIIT secretary said.

Archana Jahagirdar, Founding and Managing Partner, Rukam Capital, said: “I think there is a lot on offer for all the startups, especially young startups, because there is an understanding of how incubation works. There’ll be VCs, there’ll be angel investors.”

“I think there’ll be also an understanding of how the government is thinking, different states are thinking, what their startup policies are. For a startup that is trying to understand the entire ecosystem, there could not be a better place than ‘Startup Mahakumbh’,” Jahagirdar added.

India has the third largest startup ecosystem, and it is our endeavour to become the best, said Sanjiv Singh, Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

“This event is part of that initiative, and we are aiming to bring together its subsystems and components on a single platform. Collaboration between them will boost the startup ecosystem,” he added.

(Inputs from ANI)