Ankita Anand is a 2015 batch IAS Officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram & Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre and currently holds the position of Director, Department of Information & Technology, Govt. of Goa and is also the CEO of the Goa Startup Promotion Cell. She spoke to Business Goa about the startup ecosystem in the State
What are the numbers of startups in the space? What are the broad areas of their operations?
Presently, We have 88 startups certified by Startup Promotion Cell, Government of Goa. So our reach and information is limited to these startups. We believe there are many more startups in Goa and we urge them to register with us and join Goa Startup Policy/Program and apply for the relevant startup schemes.
Primarily the Goa Certified Startups are ventures which are technology driven and tech enabled with diverse mix of sectors from consumer tech and internet commerce, edutech to SaaS, AI, ML, IoT, healthtech and medicare. A significant number of startups are in the eco-friendly products/solutions and social enterprise, as well. A pleasing fact is that about 20% of Goa State Certified Startups are founded by women entrepreneurs. We were informed by DPIIT, Startup India that this percentage of women founders is more than any other Indian state. This fact was well exhibited during the Microsoft ‘Highway to 100 Unicorn’ event held on 6-8 March when Goa did the first Founder Boot Camp. Microsoft announced that out of the 60+ winners of “Microsoft Emerge X” across all Indian states, only 1 startup is founded by women and I am extremely proud that the startup is from Goa. We are glad to let you know that this startup is a beneficiary of Goa Startup Policy Seed Capital Grant, as well.
How do you rate the startup ecosystem in the state?
Startup India has rated Goa as ‘Emerging State.” Startup India, DPIIT does an annual ranking and rating across different parameters of all Indian States’ Startup Ecosystem. So the Emerging State is a befitting rating and depicts the on ground facts, as well. Goa State is an ‘Emerging Destination’ not just for startups but for the startup ecosystem stakeholders and enablers like incubators, investors, vendors, educators, entrepreneurs and innovators. Our study shows that all startup hubs pass through broadly different life cycle phases: 1. Local Activation 2. Regional/National Integration 3. Ecosystem Expansion 4. Global Connectedness With over 80+ startups, 100+ mentors, 10+ co-working spaces / incubators and 50+ events, boot camps over last 3 years, we have undertaken steps around local activation in Goa. Recently, we integrated Goa Startup Portal with the Startup India Portal as a major step towards regional/national integration. Goa is also designated destination for Global VC Summit of Startup India. Goa was also the first state to support startups with financial incentives post Covid-19 pandemic. With Goa State Startup Policy 2.0, Goa will embark on the next life cycle phase and we have set an ambitious plan to attempt leapfrogging across the Startup Hubs Life Cycle Phases.
What global benchmarks would you like to be compared with?
Global startup hubs have developed due to the convergence of technology, talent and tolerant culture. Global, Asian and even Indian startups have grown in the last decade in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, NCR to became startup hubs due to the return of the diaspora in that region and a migrant friendly culture. This confluence of returning diaspora has brought global expertise, experience and technology to the region and immigration friendly, tolerant culture has built and harnessed the local talent further. Take any region – Silicon Valley, London Fintech, or even closer home in India – these were the main driving factors. Once this people movement gathered steam, the government of these regions augmented this movement into building a startup ecosystem with policy, program, partnership and platform.
What are the biggest challenges that startups in Goa are up against?
For startups to speed up and scale up, they require customers and/or investors. And to find these two, is a very challenging proposition for startups in Goa. Due to limited industries andcompanies in Goa, (especially the startups who are in B2B space) one of the biggest challenges is to find clients, new clients. Startups require clients whom they can sell more and sell at good profits, as well. Some of the Goa startups have geographically expanded due to this startups in B2C products and innovative consumer apps require huge capital. These are investment heavy ventures and hence require patience capital as well. HNIs, returning diaspora, local businessmen and industrialists, etc who turn angel investors, do support startups by not providing just money in terms of capital, but experience capital along with funding. I believe that local investors who actively invest is something that is missing in Goa. Startups here struggle to raise angel investment locally. Other softer challenges are akin to any regional startup ecosystem – to grow/turbo charge they require a regional poster startup or a role model/ideal to follow. Another missing element is an active mentor network. A mentor serves as a guide/adviser/philosopher and friend to entrepreneurs and startups. We have taken note of these challenges and through our new startup policy and programs and we will aim to address these challenges and remove some of the bottlenecks.
Recently a sum of Rs 92.98 lakh funds was disbursed to IT startups in the State? Which startups were the beneficiaries of this and what was the selection process?
We have a very transparent process for applying to the 14 schemes under Goa Startup Policy 2017. Our schemes range from seed capital grants to reimbursement of expenses for startups. We even have schemes for incubators and skill development institutes. All operational guidelines for these schemes are published on Startup Goa website www.startup.goa.gov.in
All incentive applications are taken online on this portal and a startup has to submit all documents as per guidelines online. For Seed Capital Grant, a startup has to present before a panel of experts which includes industry professional, startup ecosystem enablers from academia, incubators and investors. These startups get approved and selected by this panel of experts. This gets further presented and approved by a High Powered Committee. This High Powered Committee is chaired by the Chief Minister and comprises the IT Minister, Secretary IT and experienced industrialists, renowned business persons and an industry professional. Till now, about 20 startups and 1 skill training institute have received direct financial incentives. This list is on the Startup Goa portal. About 25% of the startups registered with us have benefitted so far, we believe even this percentage of startup beneficiaries vis a vis certified startups will be among the highest compared to other Indian states certified startups.
Could you share some broad contours of the same? What would the policy aim to achieve?
With our experience of Startup Policy 2017 implementation, relevant inputs from Goa Certified Startups and Goa startup ecosystem enablers and stakeholders, was sought. A policy is being drafted, most importantly, keeping in mind the unprecedented times. These are the 5 Pillars for the Goa Startup Policy 2020 – 1. Institutional Support 2. Access to Finance 3. Access to Talent 4. Education and Skill Development 5. Thought Leadership. We have begun inter-departmental consultation and discussion with other States and DPIIT Startup India on the Goa Startup Policy 2020. Our main objectives of the new Startup Policy is to remove bottlenecks, challenges for startups and create a path for startups to scale up, speed up. We want Goa to emerge as one of the Top 25 destination for startups to start, operate and be successful. In the pre-Covid World, the startup growth was in metros and Tier 1 cities, to some extent. Globally too, this was the trend. In the post covid world, we envisage an emergence of ‘The Rise of the Rest’ in the startup world. Our aim is that with the new Startup Policy, Goa will emerge as ‘The Best of the Rest’ Startup Destination
