DECEMBER 20204When speaking about a thriving startup hub in India we naturally gravitate to think about Bangalore, Delhi or Mumbai. Kolkata or West Bengal are usually never a natural choice in this context. While Kolkata is the third most populous metropolitan in the country, it lags behind several other metropolitan and Tier-I cities when it comes to startup friendliness. Known for its prowess in terms of agriculture, West Bengal has gradually embraced pro-industrial and market friendly strategies to pick up the pace of growth in non-agricultural sectors. Although the city lags behind in terms of its startup ecosystem, yet it is evident that it is well on its way to creating a strong support system for young firms to set shop in the city. Kolkata houses a large number of startups accelerators and incubators that have been rendering the much required initial nudge to young startups. The city is also home to various local venture capitals firms that have provided entrepreneurs in the city the confidence to not move base to other cities. As a consequence the city has witnessed a gradual yet steady growth in number of successful startups. The city's biggest startup success story is that of Wow! Momo. Founded in 2007 by Sagar Daryani and Binod Kumar Homagai, the firm raised a whopping $23 million from Tiger Global Management in 2019 and brought its valuation up to $120 million. Additionally, Kolkata has witnessed a plethora of successful startups from the education, health, finance, e-commerce and food tech segment.West Bengal and Kolkata specifically holds within itself massive opportunity for growth. For one, the city offers an economic advantage to young firms owing to its lower cost of living. Although the city ranked ninth in terms of ease of doing business, the economic advantage that it renders could potentially be a game changer. The state is also home to the largest number of unemployed adults in the country; while this may sound like a con but if channeled well, this could become the biggest advantage for the state. Building on the various existing initiatives, the state government needs to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship among the youth. The city must also work towards changing the crowd perception about Kolkata. The city does have more going for it than against it. It would be interesting to witness Kolkata's rise as a pioneer in the Great Indian Startup Saga!Do let us know your thoughts. Rachita SharmaSpecial EditorOpportunities Galore for Kolkata's Startup Eco-System to Rise UpEDITOR'S NOTE Vol 7 · Issue 6 - 8 · December 24, 2020 Publisher Alok Chaturvedi Special Editor Rachita Sharma Editorial Team Aparna Roy Biplab Chakravarty Monica Pallavi J Riya Sethi Sales & Marketing Felish Rita Tapas Mallick Editorial Queries editor@startupcity.com To subscribe Visit www.startupcity.com/subscribe Cover price is Rs. 150 per issue.Printed and Published By Alok Chaturvedi on behalf of Siliconmedia Technologies Pvt Ltd and Printed at Precision Fototype Services at Sri Sabari Shopping Complex, 24 Residency Road Bangalore-560025 and Published At No. 124, 2nd Floor, Surya Chambers, Old Airport Road, Murugeshpalya, Bangalore-560017. Editor Alok ChaturvediCopyright © 2020 SiliconMedia Technologies Pvt Ltd, All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher.sales@startupcity.comGroup Art Director Ashok KumarCirculation Manager Magendran PerumalVisualisers Mohana Krishnan Siva SankarGM Sales & Marketing Virupakshi Pattarsiliconindia
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