VCCircle Digital Gaming Investment Forum
China is the largest online gaming market in the world thanks to its over 450 million internet user base. India, which has been mostly following the path of China in internet business models such as classifieds and e-commerce, may give rise to its own versions of Tencent, Netease and Shanda Interactive which are multi-billion market value companies.
India is already strong in offshore gaming development. With favourable demographics and fast growing internet usage, the local market for gaming is ripe for an explosion. Reports by KPMG and FICCI state that the Indian gaming industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 31 per cent, and may become a billion dollar industry over the next four years.
VCCircle Digital Gaming Investment Forum on July 28 in Mumbai will examine the possibility of a gaming revolution in India and will also set a stage for over 150 entrepreneurs, private equity and venture capital investors to unravel exciting business models in gaming - such as social networking and mobile gaming segments, innovations.
8:30am - 9:30am
Tea & Registration
9:30am - 9:40am
Introduction Note
Sahad P.V., Founder & Editor, VCCircle
9:40am - 10:40am
Panel 1: Investor Interest in Gaming Sector
Has the financial turmoil in the gaming industry finally ended? Let’s look at what investors are scouting for, trends in the industry and why 2011 is the right year to invest in gaming in India. Various startups are emerging out of India, targeting domestic or international markets. What are the ‘Dos &Donts’ in this business they should know about. Will they be able to reverse the trend of games being imported into the subcontinent? What are the challenges faced by investors seeking start-ups?
A high-level discussion on how start-ups can monetise the games with Paid Download; Advergaming; Sponsorship; Subscription, In-game Purchases. How scalable are these models and how can they be promoted well?
Ravi Adusumalli - Managing Partner, SAIF Partners (Moderator)
Rajesh Rao - Founder & CEO, Dhruva Interactive
SreeramVanga Reddy - Founder, Cozy Games
Lalit Sarna - CEO, Oxylabs Networks
NitishMittersain - CEO, Nazara Technologies
10:40am - 11:40am
VCCircle Red Hot Sector I: Mobile Gaming
Just one number suffices to capture the opportunity in mobile gaming in the subcontinent - 800 million mobiles. Of course, some say that of this 800 million, only 8 million are gamers. Mobile gaming is the fastest growing segment for games - gaming and VAS companies rode the IPL wave, and with more smart phones flooding the markets, game apps are becoming increasingly popular. One of the biggest stars of mobile gaming is Angry Birds, which sold over 6.5 million since its release. Mobile gaming is expected to reap up to Rs 17.1 billion in revenues by 2015 in India. Having a stable platform to build from is going to make mobile gaming extremely attractive to developers and investors alike. The industry is also excited about the potential for Networked Mobile gaming and with 3G rolling out, people no longer need to be tied down to a PC to play. It’s being heralded as the next big thing in social and mobile gaming globally. We will also look at how much gaming contributes to an operator’s VAS revenues (monetisation), what are the top games played on smartphones and how are developers dealing with the multitude of devices that are being churned out by manufacturers? With the rise of app stores and global launches, is it time to consider monetisation outside of operator billing?
Vijay Shekhar Sharma - CMD, One97 Communications (Moderator)
Nikhil Soman - Founder, Dialify Technologies
MohitSureka - Founder, Spiel Studios
RohithBhat - CEO, Robosoft/99games
Rajiv Hiranandani- CEO, Mobile2win
11:40am - 12:00pm
Tea & Networking
12:00pm - 1:00pm
VCCircle Red Hot Sector II: Social Network Gaming
Nearly 600 million users play social games and the market for social gaming touched $1.5 billion globally in 2010 (Business Insights report). Social networks now take up 23 percent of time online, with online games taking 10 percent, the two biggest shares of time spent online (Nielsen). Tune in to what the experts have to say on the social gaming phenomenon and what games are trending in casual, mobile and online segments. How are the different models of monetisation panning out? With gaming in tier2 and 3 cities overtaking that in metros, are games in local languages with a socio-cultural context the next big thing?
Rajesh Sawnhey - President, Reliance Entertainment (Moderator)
AshishKashyap - CEO, ibibo
KalyanManyam - Founder & CEO, Mojostreet
Mohan Kumar-Executive Director, Norwest Venture Partners
Robin Alter- CEO, Kreeda Games
MukulSinghal - Vice President, SAIF Partners
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Lunch and Networking
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Panel 2: Challenges Facing The Domestic Gaming Market
Have the last five years been a let-down and is piracy still a sore spot? Are we seeing enough innovation in game development, design and programming in India? What are the challenges being faced by start-ups in raising funding and what is required from the gaming ecosystem at large to help Indian developers grow? How are game developers dealing with varying laws and regulations of different countries for a global product? Get ready for debates and opinions by participants from all across the industry.
AlokKejriwal - Co-Founder and CEO, Games2Win (Moderator)
Vishal Gondal - Founder & CEO, Indiagames
Neeraj Roy - MD & CEO, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment
ManikArora - Founder & MD, IDG Ventures India
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Panel 3: What We Want To Play
What are the hottest games in India today? Who are India’s top gamers and what do they want to play? Let’s look at the top gamer’s choice by genre and device - skill based, casual, action, role playing, strategy, simulation, multi-player. Desktop, mobile or console - what’s the game playing experience of your choice and why?
Vivek Pandey- President, IGamerz
Rohan Ranade- Founder,Socio Technocrats
Shahnawaz Shaik- Chief Controller, Moiez Dyeing
4:00pm - 4:15pm
Concluding Remarks
SAIF Partners is a venture capital firm that is sector and stage agnostic. SAIF is extremely active in early stage technology-enabled businesses. SAIF was the first institutional investor in companies such as MakeMyTrip (Consumer Internet), One97 (Mobile VAS), JustDial (Local Search), and HomeShop18 (eCommerce). In China, SAIF Partners was early stage investors in gaming companies - Shanda and Perfect World. The fund has strong experience of investing in companies at an early stage and helping them through multiple rounds of financings and eventually an IPO.
In addition, SAIF is an active growth investor in companies like Catmoss (Apparel Retail), Speciality Restaurants (Restaurants), Network18 (Media & Broadcasting), TV9 (Media & Broadcasting), SIFY (Consumer Internet) IL&FS Investmart (Financial Services) and the National Stock Exchange (Financial Services).
SAIF currently manages $4.0 billion across funds and is actively seeking investment opportunities in early stage and growth stage businesses.
Dell is among the fastest growing technology companies in the country becoming a leader in both the Notebook and Desktop segments in a short span of time. Dell recently entered the Indian mobile market with its Streak, XCD and now Venue & Venue Pro ranges of tablets and smartphones, and aims at providing a host of customer solution led products in the consumer, SMB, public and enterprise space targeted at helping customers grow and thrive. Dell is focused on being a complete IT services provider offering solutions ranging from mobility, enterprise, backed by robust IT services and a well-thought-out and streamlined channel strategy to ensure the optimum reach.
The One97 Mobility Fund(OMF) is a $100 million fund set up to support entrepreneurs who are building game changing companies in the mobile ecosystem. OMF aims to accelerate the growth and dynamics of the mobile universe and make it easier for the entrepreneurs who are starting out.
OMF is a commitment to translate opportunities in the mobile VAS and allied sectors into relevant and scalable businesses by working closely with entrepreneurs and industry stakeholders. OMF extends capital along with operating experience, go to market strategies, mentorship, resources and relationships to portfolio companies and assists in building strong teams. Visit us at www.one97mobilityfund.com
If you are interested to setup such a meeting for yourself, please email at contact@one97mobilityfund.com with few lines on your business and contact details.
10,000 Startups is an ambitious attempt by NASSCOM to scale up the startup ecosystem in India by 10x. 10,000 Startups aims to enable incubation, funding and support for 10,000 technology startups in India over the next ten years.
The program’s vision is to:
• Foster entrepreneurship
• Build entrepreneurial capabilities at scale and
• Strengthen early stage support for tech startups
To meet these objective the program aims to bring together key stakeholders of the ecosystem including startup incubators / accelerators, angel investors, venture capitalists, startup support groups, mentors and technology corporations.
With 10,000 Start-ups NASSCOM aims to build a vibrant ecosystem for technology entrepreneurship in India.
10,000 Startups is an ambitious attempt by NASSCOM to scale up the startup ecosystem in India by 10x. 10,000 Startups aims to enable incubation, funding and support for 10,000 technology startups in India over the next ten years.
The program’s vision is to:
• Foster entrepreneurship
• Build entrepreneurial capabilities at scale and
• Strengthen early stage support for tech startups
To meet these objective the program aims to bring together key stakeholders of the ecosystem including startup incubators / accelerators, angel investors, venture capitalists, startup support groups, mentors and technology corporations.
With 10,000 Start-ups NASSCOM aims to build a vibrant ecosystem for technology entrepreneurship in India.
Mumbai Angels, started in 2006 is the premium Angel network in India. The Mumbai Angels provides a unique platform to start up and very early stage companies by bringing them face to face with successful entrepreneurs, professionals and executives who are interested in and have the funds available to invest in start-up companies. Many members of Mumbai Angels have prior Silicon Valley experience. In addition to the capital of its members, the Mumbai Angels provides access to high quality mentoring, vast networks in India and abroad and inputs on strategy as well as execution.
VCC Events opens up the avenues for participation. Join hands to be a part of India’s largest gathering of alternative investments leaders, industry stakeholders and Asia’s influential limited partners, general partners and marquee advisors. Your chance to actively participate and augment yourself as thought leaders.
Intercontinental Lalit, Mumbai
Intercontinental Lalit, Mumbai
Distance: Sahar Airport Road
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