On 6 February AIBC Victoria and the Consulate General of India in Melbourne hosted a Business Forum on Connecting the Australia-India Start-up and Innovation Ecosystems. The keynote speaker for this event was Mr Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub India. Based in Hyderabad, T-Hub (t-hub.co) is one of India’s largest government supported startup and innovation incubator systems. T-Hub leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem that powers next-generation products and new business models. Since its incorporation in 2015 it has provided services to over 1,100 national and international start-ups by facilitating access to better technology, talent, mentors, customers, corporations, investors and government agencies.
The event was powered by AIBC’s national chapter for Start-ups and Innovation chaired by Mr Irfan Malik, AIBC NSW and Global CEO of inQ Innovation, who spoke about the AIBC’s strategic outlook in this space and other initiatives such as its Australia-India Innovation Bridge Program.
Mr Narayan addressed opportunities for cross collaboration between Australia and India, upcoming start-up and innovation exchanges, successful case studies and advice on how to scale up a start-up. A panel discussion followed with perspectives and insights from Narayan, Malik and Mr RB Karjee, First Secretary (Economic and Commerce) at the Indian High Commission in Canberra. With reference to India’s recently released Union Budget for 2020-2021, the panel noted that the fact that the word “start-up” was mentioned many times in this budget indicates not only growing Indian government support for start-ups, but also an increased level of activity and acknowledgement of start-up initiatives and entrepreneurs in general. (Article continues after photo gallery)
Start-up entrepreneurs in the room were given an opportunity to share their stories. Victor Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of Communiteer, said that “As a tech start-up looking to expand our reach and social impact to India, we gained a lot of valuable insights and practical tips to make informed decisions”; Varun Singh, Founder and CEO of Development Logistics, commented “It was fantastic to see a vibrant Indian community trying to find ways to collaborate between Australia and Indian start-ups. As a small IT company from a tier 3 town of Dharamshala in India, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a warm welcome from everyone. Honoured to be given an opportunity to speak at the event”.
The Victorian Government spoke about the relationship between Victoria and India and support aiming to further strengthen ties, including programs for start-ups. DFAT addressed the upcoming Ministerial visit to India to be led by Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham, accompanying a trade delegation of 100 Australian companies.
The event was sold out a few days prior, and AIBC Victoria sincerely thanks its over 60 participants including AIBC Victoria members, non-members, associates and partners. It particularly thanks the Consulate General of India for jointly hosting the event and providing the platform for a compelling discussion and incredible networking opportunity for all those that attended.
Ms Preeti Daga, President of the AIBC Victoria, underlined that the “AIBC looks to promote business to business links between Australia and India. The strong interest in this event is testimony to the fact Australian start-ups are looking towards India for scaling up their business. We look forward to driving serious bilateral business outcomes in the year ahead”.
AIBC NSW held a similar event in Sydney earlier in the week, on 4 February, in partnership with the Consulate General of India in Sydney, with great success.
AIBC Victoria looks forward to learning more about your business interests and activities at future events and to further promoting effective business-to-business initiatives in 2020.
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