German Indian Startup Exchange Program coming to Bengaluru & Delhi soon

The German Indian Startup Exchange Program (GINSEP) kicked off in Berlin today (Oct 13) with more than 100 people from politics, media, and stakeholders from the German and Indian startup ecosystem.

Dirk Wiese, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, India’s largest digital media platform for startups in India, inaugurated the event.

The GINSEP is a non-monetary platform initiated by the German Startups Association and supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to strengthen and foster the German-Indian economic relations in the field of startups.

Within the GINSEP, the German Startups Association acts as a neutral intermediary channelling the information flow between the Indian and the German startup ecosystems. The GINSEP is implemented with the support of honorary GINSEP ambassadors and mentors in both countries.

The GINSEP hosts a range of events on internationalisation and provides information beyond the vibrant startup hotspots of Berlin and New Delhi on the entirety of the respective ecosystems. It develops a go-to-market guide to support the soft landing of globalising startups.

Speaking at the event, Shradha Sharma, said, “The startup ecosystems in India and Germany are both mature and vibrant. India’s high-tech companies and Germany’s industrial landscape, as well as the financing opportunities in both countries, will perfectly complement each other. Yet, there is little cooperation. The GINSEP supports both German and Indian startups in their efforts to understand and ultimately access each other’s ecosystem for mutual growth.”

Angela De Giacomo, who is the Head of the India-based Bissell Family Office, and one of the initiators of GINSEP with the German Startups Association, said, “It was a very successful event today. The high number of attendees coming from all over Germany shows the great interest of German entrepreneurs in the Indian startup ecosystem.” She added that in the upcoming months, the new website ginsep.co, the planned ambassador network as well as the first delegation trip to India that is also supported by Bertelsmann Foundation will drive true exchange.

From February 18 to 25, 2018, GINSEP will bring together startups, investors, corporates as well as politicians from Germany with their counterparts in Bengaluru and Delhi. “In the upcoming two years of GINSEP much more of these formats will follow. We want to connect as many entrepreneurs as possible,” she stated.

(If you are interested in the delegation trip to India in February 2018 please contact [email protected])