As India looks to encourage the growth of a healthy startup ecosystem, it’s equally important to promote ventures that look to address grassroots-level challenges. That’s the theme of the upcoming India Startup Festival (ISF) in Bengaluru that is being organised by the India Start-up Foundation. The not-for-profit organisation aims to provide a platform for ideas and innovations to foster a ‘Innovation at the Bottom of the Pyramid’ approach.

The key theme of the three day long event would be centered around startup innovation in the fintech, rural innovation, agritech, foodtech and rural healthcare innovation space. From August 10-12, 2023 the ISF event, which is in its second year, will host more than 10,000 startups not only from India but also Japan and the UK and over 500 investors.

The event will be attended by eminent people like Sadguru Sri Madhusudan, Founder of the Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence, Karnataka, Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Priyank Kharge, Minister of Information Technology and Bio-Technology, Karnataka, NS Boseraju, Minister of Minor Irrigation, Science & Technology Department of Karnataka.

A meticulous startup jury will handpick the top one hundred startups as finalists, granting them an exclusive opportunity to pitch their ideas on the grand stage and secure funding. The top 10 startups will be awarded cash prizes and receive mentorship from industry leaders specific to their sectors. Eight eminent personalities in India will be recognized with lifetime achievement awards for their significant contributions to the industry and the country's growth. To encourage the next generation of innovators, the festival will also acknowledge ten Junicorn (students) teams as well.

A very important takeaway that is expected from this event is that over 30 plus term sheets are expected to be awarded to deserving startups. According to ISF, this historic move marks the “country's first-ever” offering at a Startup Festival, fostering innovation and growth.

Global participants will engage in several roundtables to deliberate on "Rural Entrepreneurship and Rural Empowerment." The ultimate goal of these discussions at ISF 2023 is to produce an insightful white paper containing viable solutions. This paper will be shared with local and federal government authorities, aiming to encourage them to implement the envisioned changes and foster progress in rural areas.

According to JA Chowdary, Chairperson & Convenor of ISF 2023, the festival complements the Government of India's (GOI) remarkable initiatives like Start-up India, Digital India, Make-in-India, etc. It aims to bring together start-ups to further their missions and contribute to an Atmanirbhar Bharat. He is of the view that for India to flourish, the benefits of the startup ecosystem must extend to rural areas, creating new opportunities and employment prospects.

The India Startup Foundation is actively engaging in signing several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to provide a thriving ecosystem for startups, offering guidance, mentoring, marketing support, and funding to help them succeed. The festival also aims to bring High Networth Individuals (HNIs) and Venture Capitalists (VCs) together to tackle the “funding winter”. A recent report by PwC India pointed to the grim fact that the Indian startup ecosystem reported its lowest six-month funding in the last four years in the first half of 2023. The funding stood at $3.8 billion across 298 deals - a decline of nearly 36% as compared to $5.9 billion in the second half of 2022.

But even as startups deal with funding slowdown, the good news is that recently Genome’s The Global Startup Ecosystems Report 2023 ranked Bengaluru among the top 20 startup ecosystem places in the world. Pune too has moved into the 31-40 rank range from 51-60 the previous year. Incidentally, many Indian cities have moved up the ranks, with increased focus on digital public infrastructure.