Introduction

Shouldering The Innovation Agenda Of The Nation

Being the world’s sixth-biggest economy, India has the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world. India is minting start-up unicorns at a record pace. In the period from 2015 to 2021 there has been:

  • 9X increase in the number of investors
  • 7X increase in the total funding of startups
  • 7X increase in the number of incubators

2021 has been recognised as the ‘year of unicorns,’ with 40+ unicorns added in the year. The year also witnessed more than 2,250 start-ups, over 600 more than 2020. Innovation is forging the future. It’s the moment of truth: innovation has sustained us through the pandemic and is now redefining how we work, live, and interact. India ranks #2nd in innovation quality with top positions in the quality of scientific publications and the quality of its universities among middle-income economies. The innovation in India is not just limited to certain sectors. We have recognized startups solving problems in 56 diverse industrial sectors with 13% from IT services, 9% healthcare and life sciences, 7% education, 5% professional and commercial services, 5% agriculture and 4% food & beverages. These new leaders are—ICONS, turning into UNICORNS.

2022 demands the need for a different path to light. Innovation that not just fix the business but also upend convention and craft a new vision for the future. The commitment now is to develop a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in every nook and corner of India.

The investment ecosystem has systematically helped in crafting the start-ups focus on innovation that helped script their success story. While innovation has always been pivotal for higher productivity and economic growth, it is also crucial for bolstering a post-crisis economy.

The Indian start-up ecosystem has taken the lead in mobilising resources to battle the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. Thanks to their unique business models and product offerings, these start-ups are making a strong foothold in the market. By 2025, the Indian start-up ecosystem is expected to have 37,000 tech start-ups, and 180-200 unicorns with a cumulative valuation of $600-700 billion. Current valuation = $320-330 billion.


Agenda

11:30 AM onwards
  • 11:30 AM – Onwards

    Registration

  • 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

    Investor Lounge & Lunch

  • 2:00 PM – 2:10 PM

    Welcome: Introductions and Context Setting

    By Leslie D'Monte, Executive Editor, VCCircle

  • 2:10 PM – 2:25 PM

    Opening Keynote

    By Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog

  • 2:25 PM – 2:50 PM

    Keynote Address

    By Shalil Gupta, CBO, Mosaic Digital

  • 2:50 PM – 3:20 PM

    Panel 1: Global Expansion - A Wild-Goose Chase or Up for Grabs

    According to an estimate by OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), more than 50% of the global startups internationalize within the very first year. In case of developed economies, such as the Western European countries, over 80% of startups internationalize in the first three years. As per a survey by TurningIdeas Ventures over 42% of start-ups are looking to expand and tap into the global markets in 2022.

    This need establishes the importance of working together and developing partnerships between the start-up, investor community, and the technology partners. Technology has become a core enabler to mitigate the two-fold challenge of optimizing between the pressures to lower costs while facilitating enough local adaption in varying geographies.

    Speakers-
    Padmaja Ruparel
    , Co-Founder, Indian Angel Network
    Gautam Kapoor, Co-Founder, Shiprocket
    Bhawna Agarwal
    , Country Head - Strategy & Growth, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

    Moderator:-
    Jaideep Mehta
    , CEO, Mosaic Digital & Head - Mint

  • 3:20 PM – 3:40 PM

    Fireside Chat: Policy Frameworks Aimed at Facilitating Start-Ups

    Post pandemic, the focus for India is to strengthen the digital infrastructure within critical sectors such as healthcare and education, alongside ensuring employment generation in manufacturing and infrastructure. The Indian start-up ecosystem must develop solutions that allow businesses in these key sectors to achieve the goals of national importance.

    To further aid small businesses and empower entrepreneurs, the government should introduce additional start-up-friendly policies and tax relaxations to enable spending on innovations, ease doing business, and reduce compliance costs. Further start-ups are demanding the government focuses on policies that will create a level playing field for both online and offline sellers.

    Ranjani Raghavan, Associate Editor, VCCircle in conversation with Shruti Singh, Joint Secretary, DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade), Ministry of Commerce & Industry

  • 3:40 PM – 4:15 PM

    Mashup: India Offering a Palette of Consumers - Opportunities Galore

    India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world with the world’s third-largest start-up ecosystem. In 2021, Indian start-ups raised $38 billion, 3x of 2020 ($11.1 billion). It is also one of the most diverse, with many regional, spiritual and cultural nuances. Over the coming years, the confluence of robust economic growth, a vibrant consumption landscape, greater connectedness, and key social reforms has created a massive opportunity to advance inclusive and responsible consumption for decades to come.

    However the very same diversity also makes India a very tough market. Thus pushing the agenda of innovation even further. According to the BCG report, the pandemic proliferated 4 categories of behavioural changes namely “accelerating behaviours,” “sustained momentum behaviours,” “sensitive behaviours,” and “transient behavioural changes." which have further accentuated the opportunity avenues as well as making it even more demanding at the same time, for the start-up ecosystem to capitalize on.

    3:40 – 3:55 PM
    Keynote on India Offering a Palette of Consumers - Opportunities Galore

    By Abheek Singhi, Managing Director & Senior Partner, BCG

    3:55 - 4:15 PM
    Fireside chat
    on India Offering a Palette of Consumers - Opportunities Galore

    Abheek Singhi, Managing Director & Senior Partner, BCG in conversation with Kamal Kashyap, Director, Data management, HPE India

  • 4:15 PM – 4:30 PM

    Networking Break

  • 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM

    Panel 2: Challenge of Scaling in the Times of Talent Scarcity

    Building an innovative company designed to operate across multiple geographies is no easy feat, especially with talent wars at an all-time high and pay packages are going through the roof. Like any other business skill, recruitment takes understanding and experience to get right, but the hiring process can be lengthy - anything from about 19 hours for design/creative roles to 30 for IT posts. Get it wrong and it all adds up to a colossal waste of time.Further in the race to scale companies need to optimise their resource cost. Hence, it requires partnerships, vision, and most importantly, a culture that encourages an entrepreneurial spirit; and the ability to attract & retain talent. So what can scaling leaders do to prepare?

    Speakers-
    Arjun Mohan, CEO, upGrad
    Bipin Preet Singh
    , Co-Founder, MD and CEO, MobiKwik

    Moderator:-
    Shalil Gupta
    , CBO, Mosaic Digital

  • 5:00 PM – 5:15 PM

    Fireside Chat: Treading the Pitfalls of Driving Value for Both Start-Ups and Limited Partner's

    India is receiving investment from venture capital firms from around the world. The country is also becoming a more preferred destination than China thanks to its buoyant public markets and the rapid adoption of online services in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. However it also creates a fiercely competitive environment. Every VC is wanting to land the next big unicorn.

    With an industry standard of three out of four venture-backed companies failing the stakes are very high. Further we have all lived the era of the dotcom bubble, hence one needs to be cognizant of other success metrices other than just valuation. What's the blueprint of the future for VC's to avoid pitfalls?

    Leslie D'Monte, Executive Editor, VCCircle in conversation with Nupur Garg, Founder, WinPE

  • 5:15 PM – 5:30 PM

    Fireside Chat: Starting-Up with ESG in the DNA

    2021 was a record year for investment capital directed towards climate change, environmental issues and sustainable investing across the globe. Over $100 billion was estimated to be flowed into sustainable investments, which in fact, is more than double the $50 billion investment in ESG in 2020. The global annual cash flow into sustainable investing has grown ten folds since 2018.

    However, a particular segment of investors is skeptical of the possibility of “Greenwashing”. There has been an investor tendency of over-evaluating certain ESG companies and conveying a false impression.

    The question remains – is ESG investing in India really an absolute indication of how sustainable investing is not just reserved for the morally motivated anymore—it makes financial sense, too?

    Sumedha Bose, Assistant General Manager - Research and Solutions, Mosaic Digital in conversation with Mr. Rajan Singla, Sales Director, Enterprise GTM, HPE Financial Services.

  • 5:30 PM – 6:15 PM

    Networking Break

  • 6:15 PM – 8:00 PM

    Awards

  • 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM

    Cocktail and Dinner


Investor Lounge

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Abhishek Mohan

Principal, Sequoia Capital
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Abhishek Gupta

Partner, Trifecta Capital
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Ajay Mahipal

Director, HealthQuad Capital Advisors Private Limited
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Arpit Agarwal

Director, Investment Team, Blume Ventures
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Ishpreet Gandhi

Founder and Managing Partner, Stride Ventures
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Karan Mohla

Partner, B Capital Group
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Kunal Khattar

Founding Partner, Advantedge Capital
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Nupur Garg

Founder, WinPE
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Padmaja Ruparel

Co-Founder, Indian Angel Network
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Sanjeev Aggarwal

Founder & Senior Managing Director, Helion VC
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Sateesh Andra

Managing Director, Endiya Partners
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Shraeyansh Thakur

Principal, Sequoia Capital
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Sunil Kumar Goyal

Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Managing Director, YourNest Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd.

Speakers 2022

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Abheek Singhi

Managing Director & Senior Partner, BCG
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Amitabh Kant

Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog
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Arjun Mohan

CEO, upGrad
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Bhawna Agarwal

Country Head - Strategy & Growth, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
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Bipin Preet Singh

Co-Founder, MD and CEO, MobiKwik
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Gautam Kapoor

Co-Founder, Shiprocket
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Jaideep Mehta

CEO, Mosaic Digital & Head - Mint (Moderator)
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Kamal Kashyap

Director, Data management, HPE India
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Leslie D'Monte

Executive Editor, VCCircle (Moderator)
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Nupur Garg

Founder, WinPE
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Padmaja Ruparel

Co-Founder, Indian Angel Network
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Rajan Singla

Sales Director, Enterprise GTM, HPE Financial Services
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Ranjani Raghavan

Associate Editor, VCCircle (Moderator)
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Shalil Gupta

CBO, Mosaic Digital (Moderator)
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Shruti Singh

Joint Secretary, DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade), Ministry of Commerce & Industry
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Sumedha Bose

Assistant General Manager - Research and Solutions, Mosaic Digital

Our Sponsors & Partners

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ICONs 2022

  • Angel Investor of the Year
    Sujeet Kumar, Co-Founder, Hiveloop Technology Pvt. Ltd.
  • Angel Investor of the Year
    Anupam Mittal - Founder & CEO, People Group (Shaadi.com)
  • Angel Investor of the Year
    Kunal Naresh Shah - Founder & CEO, Dreamplug Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (CRED)
  • Best Founder/CEO
    Shriharsa Majety
  • Best Woman Entrepreneur
    Falguni Nayar
  • Best Early-Stage Start-Up ($50-$100M valuation)
    Setu
  • Best Growth-Stage Start-Up ($100-$500M valuation)
    Juspay
  • Best High Value Start-Up (>$5B valuation)
    Swiggy
  • Best Late-Stage Start-Up (>$500M valuation)
    Chargebee
  • Breakthrough
    Ninjacart
  • E-Commerce
    Meesho
  • EdTech
    Vedantu
  • Fintech
    Zerodha
  • Health Tech
    Innovaccer
  • Infra & Logistics
    Zetwerk
  • SaaS
    Icertis
  • VC of the Year
    Accel India Management LLP

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