Want to know the full list of national startup awardees from Karnataka and the details of FDI investment received in the financial year 2022? Read on.
For the first time, India celebrated Startup India Innovation Week from January 10th to 16th, 2022. The event was organized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
As part of the week’s events, National Startup Awards for 2021 were given to 46 startups including an incubator and an accelerator. The awards were given to recognize and reward innovative startups and ecosystem enablers.
Of the 46 winners, 14 startups are based in Karnataka making it the state with the highest number of award winners.
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Startup Ranking – Highlights
Karnataka is also home to over 13,000 recognized startups. During the ‘Startup India Innovation Week’ held between January 10th and 16th, 2022, 56 startups were given national awards for innovative product development. 14 of these 46 companies are based in Karnataka.
In terms of Global ranking, Bengaluru stood 23rd. In 2020, the city was ranked 26th. The step-up has been the result of efforts made to improve funding, knowledge and connectedness. Interestingly, New Delhi was ranked 36th. The Bengaluru ecosystem value is approximated to be around $53 billion.
To encourage technological innovations, 200 of the 13,000 startups in the state will be given up to Rs 50 lakh seed funding each within the current fiscal year. 500 startups have already received similar seed funding. The government hopes that this will help Karnataka maintain its lead position in the sphere of technology
Full List Of Karnataka National Startup Award Winners
Of the 2,177 applications from 15 sectors and 49 subsectors, received from across the country, 459 nominations were for Karnataka’s startups. 14 of these went on to win awards in 9 sectors. These are:
- Athreya Global Solutions in the Agriculture, Productivity Sector
- Blinkin Technologies Private Limited in the Industry 4.0, Augmented Reality Products Sector
- Leucine Rich Bio Private Limited in the Health and Wellness, Life Sciences Sector
- Marketxpander Services Private Limited in the Enterprise Systems, Customer Relationships Management Sector
- Naffa Innovations Private Limited in the Fintech, Financial Inclusion Sector
- Rubanbridge Private Limited in the Transport, Freight and Logistics Services Sector
- Simplotel Technologies Private Limited in the Travel, Hospitality Sector
- Shapos Services Private Limited in the Agriculture, Farmer Engagement and Education Sector
- Stellapps Technologies Private Limited in the Animal Husbandry, Productivity Sector
- Steradian Semiconductors Private Limited in the Transport, Traffic Management Sector
- Tagbox Solutions Private Limited in the Industry 4.0, Internet of Things Sector
- Thinkerbell Labs Private Limited in the Education and Skill development, Access to Educational Institutions Sector
- Umbo Idtech Private Limited in the Fintech, Insurance Sector
- Zentron Labs Private Limited in the Agriculture, Post Harvest Sector
You can learn more about the National Startup Award Winners here.
Karnataka Government Initiatives To Promote Startups
The Karnataka state government has taken several steps to encourage startups in the state.
- The state has made several funding programs available to startups. This includes Elevate 100, the Amrit Start-up Initiative and Grand Challenges Karnataka. Elevate 100 has already funded 489 startups with a total amount of Rs 116.73 crore. Thinkerbell, Tagbox and Steradian had earlier found recognition as Elevate 100 winners.
- The Elevate WomEN programme has an outlay of Rs 5 crores for Women entrepreneurs.
- The New Age Innovation Network has been set up in over 15 districts to encourage Entrepreneurship and an Innovative Spirit.
- The state government has also started developing Global Innovation Alliances with other startup hubs across for the world. Some of the countries partnered with include the UK, France, Australia, Netherlands, Finland and Germany.
- The rules for Karnataka Public Procurement Transparency have been recently amended to help startups participate in state government purchase tenders. This is a first-of-its-kind model that supports startups and gives them preferential access to state government projects.
- The Amrit Start-up Initiative with 75 handpicked startups provides support and seed funding under the Idea2Poc scheme. This is being proposed as a special drive under the Elevate Unnati Programme.
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Karnataka Receives Highest FDI in FY 2022
Karnataka is rising. From being the biggest software exporter and a growing startup hub in the country, the state is now coming closer to being the state with the overall highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow. In terms of cumulative value since 2019, Karnataka currently ranks third after Maharashtra and Gujarat.
For the two successive fiscal years, Karnataka has been leading the country in terms of FDIs. The success is largely attributed to investor-friendly policies and pro-development bureaucracy.
For example, while land in Karnataka may be expensive, the slashing of commercial taxes, land sales initiatives and electricity subsidies act as incentives for companies wanting to set up shop in the state. Karnataka has also been pushing for greater use of alternative energy and sustainability.
FDI Received In FY 2022
In the current fiscal year, the state attracted FDIs worth Rs 1.6 lakh crore. This is more than half the value of the total FDIs received in the country.
Foreign investors have put their money in companies from varied sectors ranging from healthcare, food processing and hospitality to drone technology, biotechnology, aerospace and defence.
Some of the other areas that have received interest include nanotechnology, aggrotech, fintech, electronics, ESDM, hardware and manufacturing.
Start-up Wars – Delhi vs Bangalore
A rise in start-up ventures has been one of the unforeseen effects of the COVID pandemic. Many men and women gave up the comfort of a regular corporate salary for the joy of working on their own dream projects from home. Start-ups have been popping up throughout the country.
According to a recent Economic Survey, over 5,354 start-ups were launched in Delhi in 2019-21 as compared to 4,998 in Bangalore. The numbers come as a surprise since Bangalore has long been considered the start-up capital of India.
That said, the Karnataka government, investors and policy makers are not worried as this is only part of the larger picture.
Growth And Sustainability Matter More Than Numbers
Starting a company is the easy part. Making sure it is sustainable and can grow is the harder challenge. When it comes to these yardsticks, Bangalore is far ahead of Delhi and all other cities.
FDI Investment
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an important metric when talking about start-up ventures. The more FDI investment a state or city receives; the more trust investors have in it. And, when it comes to FDI, Karnataka received 45% of the total FDI in India for the years 2021-22. It is clearly still the favored location for investors.
The Unicorn Race
Unicorns are privately owned start-up companies that have been valued at over $1 billion. There are about 94 unicorns in India with Bangalore being the unicorn capital. 40-45% of all Indian unicorns are believed to be based in Karnataka. This not only indicates growth but also is a sign that Bangalore has a stronger foundation for supportive services required by start-ups.
Start-Up Niches
There is almost no field being left untouched by start-ups. Back in the day, when it was all about call centers and BPOs, Bangalore was the place to be. This industry is not shifting to smaller cities. Start-ups in Bangalore are concentrating more on spaces like IoT, clean technology, electric vehicles, aerospace, defense, etc. These industries require higher investments and hence their numbers rise at a slower pace as compared to start-ups for home goods, customer servicing, etc.
The Way Forward
Despite not being too worried about Delhi having overtaken Bangalore in the number of start-ups launched, Karnataka cannot afford to be complacent about its start-up environment. As other state governments hold programs to encourage entrepreneurship amongst students, the Karnataka state government probably needs to look into improving innovation authority policies and making it easier for start-ups to be launched.
