SPF launches centre to help startups navigate IPOs and public markets
The Centre for New-Age Public Companies aims to serve as a founder-led platform to help startups transition into public entities amid rising interest in India’s capital markets.
The Startup Policy Forum (SPF), a coalition of over 50 technology-driven companies, has launched a new platform to support India’s growing base of IPO-bound and recently listed startups.
The Centre for New-Age Public Companies (CNPC) aims to serve as a founder-led platform to help startups transition into public entities amid rising interest in India’s capital markets.
The announcement was made in the presence of SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey during a closed-door meeting attended by 20 startup founders and executives.
The SPF said CNPC will address the regulatory, governance, and market-readiness needs of these firms, and act as a bridge between startups, investors, regulators, and market intermediaries.
The CNPC will operate across four strategic pillars designed to support new-age companies through their public market journey.
The first is advocacy, where the Centre will engage with SEBI, other regulators, policymakers, and market participants to help evolve the regulatory framework in alignment with the specific needs of digital-first companies.
The second is capacity building, which will involve organising workshops, masterclasses, and webinars focused on critical topics such as compliance, corporate governance, investor relations, and ESG best practices.
The third pillar, community engagement, aims to facilitate peer learning, knowledge sharing, and collective problem-solving among founders and CXOs of listed and IPO-bound startups.
Finally, through its Research & Insights arm, the CNPC will develop toolkits, policy briefs, and governance guides tailored to the unique requirements of tech-driven public companies in India.
“India’s capital markets are witnessing a structural shift, with new-age and tech-driven companies increasingly dominating IPO pipelines and investor interest,” said Shweta Rajpal Kohli, President and CEO of the Startup Policy Forum. “The Centre will enhance the readiness and resilience of new-age companies as they enter and thrive in public markets.”
Ashish Chauhan, MD and CEO of the National Stock Exchange, said the rise of tech startups in the public domain marks a significant development for Indian capital markets. “The emergence of new-age companies in the public markets is a significant evolution. Initiatives like CNPC will promote better governance, transparency, and capital market preparedness while fostering trust among retail and institutional investors,” he said.
The 25-member SPF delegation meeting with SEBI included Ritesh Agarwal (Founder and CEO, OYO), Shashank Kumar (Co-founder and MD, Razorpay), Rohit Kapoor (CEO, Swiggy Food Marketplace), Ankit Fatehpuria (Co-founder and CFO, Zetwerk), Shashank ND (Co-founder, Practo), Sanket Shah (Co-founder and CEO, InVideo), Miten Sampat (CRED), Nischay AG (Co-founder, Jar), Ajay Lakhotia (Founder, StockGro), and senior leaders from ixigo, Bluestone, Acko, and Eazydiner.
Several members of SPF are already listed, including Swiggy, ixigo, Ather Energy, MobiKwik, and Blackbuck. Others, such as Pine Labs, Meesho, Groww, Curefoods, IndiQube, Bluestone, and Physics Wallah, are at various stages of preparing for their public market debut.
Edited by Kanishk Singh