Goyal calls for global network to bolster start-up ecosystem
Inaugurating the two-day inception meeting of the Start-up 20 Engagement Group of G-20 nations in a virtual mode, Goyal said the network would have to support and inspire start-ups, act as a team to facilitate exchange of ideas, best practices and funding mechanisms and promote collaborations in research and development.
Hyderabad
Union minister for commerce and industry, food and consumer affairs Piyush Goyal on Saturday called for creation of an international network of mentors, investors and entrepreneurs to strengthen the global start-up ecosystem.
Inaugurating the two-day inception meeting of the Start-up 20 Engagement Group of G-20 nations in a virtual mode, Goyal said the network would have to support and inspire start-ups, act as a team to facilitate exchange of ideas, best practices and funding mechanisms and promote collaborations in research and development.
The Union minister said that India was proud to highlight the progress and potential of the global start-up ecosystem as the host nation of G-20. The Startup20 Group had been established under India’s G20 presidency for the first time, as part of India’s special focus on innovation, he said.
He expressed confidence that innovation would be the strongest pillar that would help build a developed India. He recalled that Prime Minister had taken the first step to launch the Start-up India initiative in 2016 itself.
“In the last seven years, it had helped in fostering entrepreneurship and promoting newer and newer ideas, helping start-ups grow and flourish by creating an ecosystem that is conducive for growth,” he said.
Goyal said the capabilities of our start-ups in different areas - be it energy, be it financial inclusion, where fintech played an important role and be it our fight against pandemic when remote healthcare and food delivery became very important.
He expressed his firm belief that innovation can lead the way in solving problems like climate change, poverty and inequality. In the Indian context, our entrepreneurs are using creativity and ingenuity to tackle these challenges, he said and cited the examples of digital public goods like Cowin, UPI and ONDC.
Goyal gave the mantra of ‘SENSE’ -- Share, Explore, Nurture, Serve and Empower -- for the growth of start-ups.
Union minister of tourism and culture G Kishan Reddy said India had the third highest number of start-ups in the world. “Our youth want to become job creators instead of job holders,” he said.
G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, Startup-20 Chair Chintan Vaishnav, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, secretary Anurag Jain and G-20 Secretariat JS Asish Sinha JS have attended the session.
As many as 180 delegates from G-20 member countries and nine special invitee countries, besides stakeholders, have participated in the inaugural meeting.
