G20-Startup20 Engagement Group to meet in Hyderabad to rally global support for startups

The G20 group that was established after India assumed the presidency would meet from January 28 to 29 to develop practical policy recommendations on the G20 countries' top priorities for entrepreneurship and innovation in the future.

The gathering will develop an international narrative for assisting startups and encouraging collaborations between them and major corporations, financial institutions, innovation enterprises, and other ecosystem representatives.

As the country with the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Chair of Startup20 India, said, "India is well-positioned to lead the charge in supporting innovative startups, particularly in the sectors of global importance." By promoting a global community of knowledge exchange among startup ecosystems to explore prospects, the Startup20 Engagement Group will aim to unify the global startup ecosystem through consensus-based definitions.

"The group will also work with enablers like incubators and governmental organisations to bridge the information gulf between the startup ecosystems of G20 member countries and developing economies."

Additionally, Chintan stated, "We want to develop rules that encourage government agencies and business entities to collaborate with startups.

The Foundation and Alliances Taskforce, the Finance Taskforce, and the Inclusion and Sustainability Taskforce are Startup20's three core taskforces.

By promoting a worldwide community of knowledge exchange among the Startup ecosystems to explore prospects, the Foundation and Alliances Taskforce will aim to harmonise the global startup ecosystem. The knowledge gap between the innovative ecosystems of G20 member nations and developing markets will be reduced through collaborations, allowing more corporate actors across G20 countries to work with entrepreneurs and find workable solutions. Additionally, it will provide points of contact for ongoing collaboration among the participating G20 countries. Finally, it will seek to develop supporting policies for government agencies and business organisations to cooperate with startups.

To improve the variety of financial instruments available to startups, the Finance Taskforce will provide funding and investment platforms tailored for early-stage startups. Additionally, it will give startups a chance to network and pitch to the world's investors. Last but not least, it will endeavour to offer a framework based on best practices for international investors to finance startups throughout G20 member countries, aiding in developing suggestive frameworks that may be used in emerging ecosystems to enhance investment capacities.

The plan for inclusion and sustainability calls for expanding funding for women-led startups and organisations, promoting startups that aim to make communities more inclusive, and highlighting startups tackling SDGs in areas of international importance. Additionally, this Task Force wants to increase mentorship support for the startup ecosystems of the G20 member countries and emerging economies and enable more investors to invest ethically in startups built around sustainable principles.

The Startup20 activities will take place throughout five events, beginning with the genesis event in Hyderabad on January 28–29, 2023, and ending with the summit event in Gurugram on July 3, 2023. In addition, there will be interim events in three separate regions of India.

The official Policy Communique, a Startup Handbook with a set of accepted definitions and terminologies, a Global Innovation Centre to encourage cross-border collaborations, and the promotion of Startup20 as a Global Point of Contact for startup ecosystems globally are some of the anticipated outcomes and key deliverables of Startup20.