AMN
The second meeting of the Startup20 engagement group under India’s G20 Presidency concluded in Gangtok today. Presenting the closing remarks, Startup20 chair Dr Chintan Vaishnav commended the Startup20 engagement group’s phenomenal journey within a short time frame and highlighted the road map for building consensus around ideas presented by representatives from diverse startup ecosystems.
He urged all to maintain the intensity of deliberations to be able to prepare the final policy communique within the targeted next 100 days. Dr Vaishnav stressed on increasing stakeholder participation from all G20 nations, aggressive engagements, social media amplification of messages from Startup20 meets and exploring the virtual engagement format for more convenient and increased participation. He also suggested creating linkages within and outside G20 engagement groups, citing the example of the Startup20 Sikkim Sabha, which was followed by a Business20 meeting.
The final day of Startup20 Sikkim Sabha included meetings focused on deliverables under the Startup20 taskforces of foundation, alliance, finance, sustainability and inclusion, followed by a debriefing of the event, where taskforce members presented recommendations and observations for future action. Mentoring, market access and funding were identified as critical areas for startups. The need for a single window platform for easing access to funds and knowledge sharing across G20 nations was highlighted. Establishing a common startup20 fund, harmonising taxes, capacity building, a rating mechanism for startups, economic inclusion of under-represented groups of society, sharing of best practices, and establishment of single-point nodal agencies across G20 nations to drive the agenda of startups were among the key recommendations and observations for policymakers. The next Startup20 meets are scheduled in Port Blair in April and in Bengaluru in May, before the Startup20 Summit in Gurugram in July.