Work In Progress

India’s start-up ecosystem is seeing a boom and a recent study by Startup Genome has confirmed that. According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2019, Bengaluru has ranked 18 out of the top 30 start-up ecosystems of the world. To no surprise, Silicon Valley maintains its top position, while New York City came in second and London and Beijing tied at number three. The ranking methodology is based on seven key criteria: performance, funding, market research, connectedness, talent, experience, and knowledge.

 In more good news, the report notes that the education and training industry in India is expected to reach $101 billion in size in this year. It has also taken note of the rising number of unicorns in the country’s tech capital and states that edtech and fintech start-ups are driving the growth in the industry. The report also rated the city #1 in the bang-for-buck category, owing to the cheap cost of living and availability of world-class software engineers, investors and experts, all at the fraction of a cost compared to other major global start-up ecosystems. Remarkably, Mumbai also made its way to the 'Challengers' category, which comprises ecosystems that pose a threat to the existing leaders and major hubs. The list included regional major hubs such as Lagos and Jakarta, alongside Moscow and Melbourne.

 The study states, "While there are unprecedented levels of wealth created by the global start-up economy, the opportunity to participate in it is far from evenly distributed". Over 68% of tech exit value is created and captured by the top 10 cities globally. And just like the skewed wealth distribution, there is severe gender imbalance as well — only 14.1% of tech founders are female in the overall ecosystem.

 But the future of India’s start-up ecosystem remains secure for now. With the help of private investments and friendly government policies, entrepreneurs are already contributing to the aspirations of India becoming a $5 trillion economy. If things go well, cities such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad will be ready to give tough competition to Silicon Valley or Shenzen in the coming future.