Startup 20 working on communique to form one global definition for startups

Startup20, a new official engagement vertical that has been formed for the first time under the  India's G20 presidency in 2023, will be working towards forming a communique that delivers a globally accepted definition of what a ‘startup’ is along with other terms related to the industry, said Chintan Vaishnav, Startup20 India Chair & Mission Director Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog on March 14.

According to Vaishnav, Startup20 has been formed to deliberate on ways to strengthen the global Startup ecosystem and to act as the voice of the global startup ecosystem bringing together varied stakeholders on a common platform.

“Beginning this vertical was an important move in G20. Conversations on Startup activity have always went on but under different heads of G20. However, startups have become a huge ecosystem and Start Up 20 will be able to represent their voice on a global stage,” he said.

Through this, the government aims to create an environment by which start up ecosystems around the world can work together, harmonize ecosystems, and create opportunity for startups much greater than they have right now, he added.

When asked about whether the world would agree to having a common definition, Vaishnav told Moneycontrol, “I do not know whether the world would agree to a common definition or would want to keep thriving in their differences. But this will definitely bring attention to their issues and put them at the same stage as other big businesses. This will bring clarity to what a Startup is.”

As per him, the government aims to produce a first draft of this communique by the end of April.

The Startup20 first converged on January 28-29 in Hyderabad for an inception meet under the G20 activities. It is now scheduled to meet on March 18-19 in Sikkim. It will later meet on April 17-18 in port Blair where it will hold a dialogue on Startup finance and investments. It will meet on May 25-26 to discuss inclusiveness and sustainability in Bengaluru. Its final summit will be held in Gurugram on July 3-4.

“The government’s only idea is to be a catalyst in Startup promotion. We are hoping that via this, it becomes easier for Startups to operate worldwide,” Vaishnav said.

Startup ecosystem of India is the 3rd largest in world with over 92,000 DPIIT recognised Startups and over 100 unicorn Startups.

When questioned on the Silicon Valley Bank Collapse, Vaishnav said that the incident has lessons for one and all. “This shows that the idea of Atma-nirbharta really matters. It is a wakeup call to say that we ought to have an investment ecosystem that is robust enough to withstand this fall.”