Estonia is emerging as a burgeoning tech hub in Europe, providing an ideal environment for tech startups to grow. This year, Indian startups and investors are eyeing Latitude59, Estonia’s flagship startup and tech event as a significant opportunity to expand their outlook.
Archana Jahagirdar, Founder and Managing Partner at Rukam Capital, a New Delhi-based venture capital firm underlines the immense potential for cross-border collaboration and investment.
Talking to Financial Express Online on the sidelines of Latitude59, Jahagidar, as the co-lead of the Indian startup delegation saysher company invests in early-stage consumer products and services startups, highlights the forum’s strategic importance. And talked about the immense potential for cross-border collaboration and investment.
Archana Jahagirdar
Here is what she said about the significance of the event:
“Estonia is a not so well known tech hub in Europe. For founders, especially building technology companies, there are two to three clear objectives that are likely to be achieved by visiting Latitude59. There will be real exchange of ideas and how people are building startups in Europe, especially in deep tech and AI. There’s a large investor base that comes to Latitude59 which may not be fully aware of Indian startups, and we see an investment opportunity there. Also, if any founder needs to build or source business opportunities, this can be a good experience” said Jahagirdar.
Being organized from May 22 to 24, Latitude59 is set to witness over more than 3000 visitors from across the globe and almost 500 investors.
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Why Estonia ?
Jahagirdar further underscores the benefits of collaboration between the Estonian and Indian startup ecosystem. “Between India and Estonia, I think Estonia is looking to collaborate more and more with the Indian startup ecosystem and the opportunities and benefits on both sides are pretty much clear. For Estonian startups, which are looking at India as their market, it’s a good way to explore and engage with them. For Indian founders, there’s a possibility of raising capital from the larger European region, including the Baltics and the Nordics as well.”
What would you gain as an investor?
“From an investor’s standpoint, the Nordic and the Baltic investors, especially need a better understanding of what is going on in India. Sometimes we hear investors saying that they don’t understand India. So, if they won’t come to India, it’s important to take Indian founders to overseas events like this, so that there is a deeper understanding and engagement with the Indian startup ecosystem”, she stated.
India’s startup ecosystem is now the third largest in the world and continues to thrive, bolstered by government support and a significantly increasing participation of the private sector. The opening of major sectors like space and defence in the country has propelled the growth and investment opportunities in these highly regulated areas.
“I was recently at an event on Viksit Bharat, which was helmed by ministers like Hardeep Singh Puri, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, and G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, and one of the topics of conversation was about sectors like spacetech and defence-tech. These opportunities are opening up because the government is much more willing to open up these highly regulated sectors and there is an opportunity for private companies to be built over here” said Jahagirdar.
Commenting on the recent developments, she added, “We’ve had some early examples, which came up back in the 2000s, which were doing some work for the bigger defence companies, especially American defence companies. The more we indigenize in both space and defence, it’s natural that more companies will get built out, but it needs the government support and very liberal policy which we are beginning to see.”
India’s participation at Latitude59 is a major step towards globally integrating its startup ecosystem. With increasing support from the government and expanding global collaborations, Indian startups are poised for unprecedented growth, driving innovation and attracting investments from across the world.
Source link : https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry-indias-startup-ecosystem-gains-global-momentum-at-estonias-latitude59-3497257/lite/
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Publish date : 2024-05-22 03:00:00
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