By Anika Parashar
India is the third-largest ecosystem in the world adding three unicorns every month in the last one year. Today emerging new start-ups in India are getting huge infusions of funds, strategic support and collaborative opportunities.
Currently, the start-up ecosystem in the country is going through some positive shifts which will redefine the way they launch and grow in the coming years. Let’s look at some of them:
Start-up culture is spreading to non-metros: Today a start-up is no more confined to the metros and urban markets. Start-ups in smaller towns and cities are solving complex, real problems faced by demographics of that region and beyond. Thanks to rapid internet penetration in tier-II and tier-III cities, the start-up dreams of budding entrepreneurs in the non-metros are being fuelled. As interest amongst investors who are keen to fund high potential start-ups in non-metros grow, we are looking at more growth and success stories coming out of these areas.
Increase of Women Entrepreneurs: According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), at least 45% of start-ups are helmed by women entrepreneurs. Women-owned businesses are not only playing a prominent role in society but also solving unique problems often faced by women that have been neglected in the past or were not addressed as efficiently. Women entrepreneurs in India have successfully broken the stereotype that entrepreneurship is an all-boys club as a list of successful and celebrated women entrepreneurs just keeps growing. In coming years, more and more young women will be inspired to take the plunge and build on their vision.
Customer-first approach: The biggest challenge faced by a start-up in the early years are: acquiring new customers, building their customer base and retaining their paying customers. Consumers today are spoilt for choice as more startups are focusing on customer experience and creating a unique, personalised customer journey. From tacking common concerns, automating responses to customer queries to strong reward and recognition systems, a customer-centric approach and as much customisation as possible is the current focus and will get more robust in the future.
Sustainable and Green Businesses: With environmentally-conscious policies, manufacturing and products, there is a shift in consumption patterns and the consumer’s psyche. Recently, India pledged to get to net-zero carbon emission by 2070. As the green movement gets traction, the way forward is for the Indian start-up to adopt sustainable and environment-friendly policies from manufacturing, packaging to delivery as early on as they can. Organisations that adopt sustainability as the core of their philosophy and practice will be miles ahead of their counterparts in the years to come.
Mobile and Social Commerce: Mobile is the preferred medium of consumption of content in India. It is no surprise that an increasing number of brands are tapping into mobile commerce to grow their businesses. In the coming years, we will get to see more and more innovative technologies, marketing and user interaction as start-ups and brands go the mobile way. Social commerce is the natural progression of mobile commerce and is the next frontier for start-ups specially D2C companies as e-commerce and social media merges and influences each other seamlessly.
As we look to the future, the start-up ecosystem in India is poised to grow larger, stronger and scale unchartered territories with focused plans and problem-solving approaches embracing changing times.
The author is founder and CEO of The Woman’s Company. Views expressed are personal.
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