Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles, launched the US Startup SETU - Supporting Entrepreneurs in Transformation and Upskilling programme in San Francisco's Bay Area. The initiative would connect Indian start-ups with US-based investors and start-up ecosystem leaders to provide mentorship and assistance in areas such as funding, market access, and commercialization.
The programme was launched at a luncheon discussion focused on specific issues related to India's start-up ecosystem. The meeting focused on ways to encourage domestic incorporation and mentorship of early-stage Indian startups in the Bay Area by successful diaspora members.
SETU is intended to bridge the geographical divide between mentors in the United States who want to invest in entrepreneurship and early-stage startups in India. The interaction will be supported by the Startup India initiative MAARG, or the Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth programme, which is a one-stop solution finder for Indian startups. The portal was created with the intention of allowing people from all over the country to connect with mentors. In guiding the startups, a mentor will provide human intelligence.
It should be noted that over 200 mentors have been successfully onboarded on MAARG around the world to date. MAARG's core functions are to improve accessibility, use Artificial Intelligence for Matchmaking, schedule virtual meetings, host masterclasses, provide a custom dashboard for relevant information, analytics, features, and so on, and host cohort-based programmes that will allow startup ecosystem enablers to become a part of the programme and enable outcome-driven activities.
During several meetings in the Bay Area, the minister had candid and fruitful discussions with venture capitalists and industry leaders. Venture capitalists and other investors are bullish on India's business prospects." One of the most important takeaways is that the Bay Area is very bullish on India, very excited about the potential that India, Indians, and Indian startups and businesses have to offer." I'm very excited about the talent in India. "They see huge potential in India's large market, 1.3 billion aspirational Indians," Shri Goyal said following the meetings.
"There were mentorship suggestions. We've launched the SETU programme, with the goal of assisting entrepreneurs with transformation and upskilling initiatives. We're also looking into a mentorship programme launched by the startup advisory council in India, with a focus on tier-2, tier-3, and tier-4 towns and remoter areas. "A lot of good ideas have been brought to the table," he said.
It is estimated that approximately 90% of start-ups fail in their early stages, with more than half of well-funded startups failing entirely. Lack of business experience is a major issue, and founders require sound advice and moral support when making decisions.
As India strives to become a world-class startup destination, having the right advice at the right time is critical. The Government of India invites stalwarts, seasoned experts, and industry leaders to give back to the country by adding value to the journey of a startup.MAARG is seeking Mentors from all over the world. More than 200 mentors have been on-boarded on MAARG around the world to date. The applications were submitted by notable individuals from the industry and the startup ecosystem.
