Soon, India will have a dedicated startup hub connecting entrepreneurs with VCs

If latest reports are any indication, India is all set to get a dedicated startup hub in the near future. The hub, which has been put together by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), will basically serve as a platform to bring together entrepreneurs, incubators, investors, mentors, accelerators, and VCs, and ignite conversations between these various stakeholders in the startup ecosystem.

The platform is supposed to be officially launched later this week by Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for IT and Electronics, according to media reports. Former entrepreneur Deepak Agarwal will be shouldering the task of assembling a team to manage the platform, the report added.

“Through this platform, a startup in a small city can reach out to a mentor specialised in its area sitting in another part of the country, which was earlier not possible,” a government official was quoted by ET.

With more than 7,000 startups, India currently is among the biggest startup ecosystems across the world. Everyday, a new name crops up here, along with a host of incubators and accelerators who strive to provide the right mentorship, support, and help with raising capital to these startups. However, the ecosystem lacks consolidation, and this startup hub is aimed at addressing this very concern.

The platform, furthermore, is going to be instrumental in bringing visibility to the startups and showcasing their various innovations and enterprises through a dedicated webpage. In the process, helping them connect with key stakeholders in the ecosystem, seek guidance from prominent leaders and mentors, avail various benefits through government schemes, and also connect with the host of venture capitals and angel investors.

Around 1,000 startups and 130 incubation centres are already live on this startup hub. And if the report is to be believed, this platform, in the future, will also play a huge role in helping investors discover and fund startups doing groundbreaking work.

(Edited by Megha Reddy)

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