TechSparks 2019: On Day 2, keep an eye out for disruptors of the Indian startup ecosystem
Day 2 of TechSparks 2019 began with a keynote address by Manu Jain, MD, Xiaomi India and a meditation session by Pragya Misra, Heartfulness Guide, and promises to be another exciting day with an impressive line-up of speakers. Here’s a quick look at what you can expect.
The 10th edition of India’s most loved annual startup summit, TechSparks, unfolded amid much anticipation and excitement on October 11.
Day 1 kicked off with an inspiring keynote address by Dr C N Ashwathnarayan, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka and Minister for Higher & Medical Education, IT & BT, Science & Technology, followed by a slew of engaging, insightful conversations with the who's who of the Indian startup ecosystem.
Picking up the steam, and the energy and enthusiasm from the first day, Day 2 took a slightly different approach, taking the route of "heartfulness" to start the day. After WhatsApp India’s Head of Communication, Pragya Misra Mehrishi's meditative session, it was the turn of Manu Jain, the Vice President and MD of Xiaomi India to enthrall the audience with stunning facts and figures surrounding the journey and popularity of the Chinese electronics company.
YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma with Manu Jain, VP, Xiaomi and MD, Xiaomi India
The two-day event, which is aimed at bringing together, promising business leaders, successful entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, changemakers, and policymakers from the startup ecosystem, has, over the past 10 years, become a melting point of innovative debates, discussions, and entrepreneurial talent.
And this year, which marks a huge milestone for the 10-year-old startup summit, is no different. On Day 1, Dr C N Ashwathnarayan, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, rightly said,
“We need startups to turbocharge our growth engine,” he said, adding, “I firmly believe that we would see 50 more unicorns emerging from Bengaluru and participating in TechSparks 2024. I congratulate YourStory for the incredible support they lend to this promising startup ecosystem and for being the torchbearer of this startup movement.”
What to expect on Day 2?
In its tenth edition now, TechSparks has almost become synonymous with the Holy Grail of tech conferences. Bringing together more than 40,000 people and over 10,000 startups in the past, YourStory’s flagship startup summit has been instrumental in building over 15 lakh connections, creating 3 lakh+ jobs, and helping companies raise more than $1.2 billion in funding.
This year, the tech conference gets only bigger and grander. If Day 1 saw a legion of prominent speakers and business leaders dissect the current state of the startup community – keeping in mind the theme for this year, ‘India 2025: Inclusive, Future-ready, and Intelligence-led’ – Day 2 is set to raise the bar higher with an elite line-up of speakers.
Watch out for some really popular faces in the startup world, including Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO of OLA; Manu Jain, Vice President and MD of Xiaomi India; Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart; Kunal Shah, Founder and CEO of Cred; Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO of PhonePe; and Sidu Ponnappa, Managing Director of Gojek India as they discuss the many ways in which they are disrupting the ecosystem.
Not to be missed is a fireside chat with actor Rajkummar Rao as he talks about his upcoming film during a session called, Made in India, with love to China - The Story of an Unlikely Entrepreneur.
See you all at TechSparks today!
(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)
YourStory's annual extravaganza TechSparks brings together the best and the brightest from the startup ecosystem, corporate world, policymakers and, of course, the investor community. Over the past decade, TechSparks has grown to become India's most loved tech and startup platform for knowledge sharing and networking. A big thank you for all your support over the years and a big shoutout to our sponsors.
