India-led G20's Startup 20 group to hold inception meeting in Hyderabad

Startup 20 Engagement Group, set up under India's G20 presidency, will deliberate on policy recommendations on entrepreneurship and innovation during its meeting in Hyderabad next week, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on Wednesday.

G20 is a grouping of developed and developing nations. Currently, India is holding its presidency for this year.

The group will work to harmonise the global startup ecosystem through consensus-based definitions and promote a global community of knowledge sharing among startup ecosystems to explore opportunities, it said.

The group will hold its inception meeting on January 28 and 29 in Hyderabad. It would be attended by delegates from G20 nations and nine special invitees from observer countries, representatives from multilateral organizations as well as the Indian startup ecosystem.

"The group formed under G20 after India assumed presidency will convene from January 28-29 anticipating a productive development of policy recommendations on entrepreneurship and innovation priorities of and across G20 countries for the years ahead," it said.

The meeting aims at creating a global narrative for supporting startups and fostering synergies between startups, corporates, investors, innovation agencies, and other stakeholders, it added.

Startup20 India Chair Chintan Vaishnav stated that as the world's third-largest startup ecosystem, India is well-positioned to lead the charge in supporting innovative startups, particularly in the sectors of global importance.

"The group will also bridge the knowledge gap between the startup ecosystems of G20 member countries and emerging economies through partnerships with enablers such as incubators and government agencies," Chintan said. "Additionally, we aim to create supportive policies for industry players and government organisations to work with startups."

The Startup20 has three taskforces—foundation and alliances; finance; and inclusion and sustainability.

The foundation and alliances task force will work to harmonize the global startup ecosystem. It will aim to create supportive policies for industry players and government organisations to work with startups.

It said that the finance taskforce will aim to increase access to capital by providing financing and investment platforms specifically for early-stage startups.

"It will also create pitching and networking opportunities for startups with the global investor community," it said adding it will also work to provide a framework built upon best practices for global investors to fund startups across G20 member nations.

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Under inclusion and sustainability, the roadmap involves increasing support for women-led startups.

Further, it said that the Startup20 summit event will be held on July 3.

"Expected outcomes and key deliverables of Startup20 include the official policy communique, a startup handbook with a set of commonly agreed upon definitions and terminologies, a global innovation centre to foster collaborations across borders, and promotion of Startup20 as a point of contact for startup ecosystems worldwide," it added.