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ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to review the literature and show the strength and weakness of entrepreneurship
efforts in India. This paper is based on a wide literature review, focused on the identifying structure of
the incubators and government policy as tool for economic development. Entrepreneurial spirit and
risk taking ability are key to the growth of any nation. Potential entrepreneurs are too precious to be
missed out. They need to be identified, supported, nurtured and leveraged to success for the benefit of
all in the society. Since they are the only sources of new value creation, innovation, new wealth creation
and most importantly new jobs generation, their role as agents of economic growth, can never be
overstated. While we all are convinced with the efficiency of market economies and its ability to create
sustainable quality livelihoods in majority of the cases of development, still there are pockets of
development areas where markets fails to deliver. Primary education, Health Care, Basic and some
Applied Research sectors are some examples where public funding is required and which is being used
heavily to enhance our growth and development. In the development spectrum, Incubation, the strategic
vehicle for taking research and knowledge based products to the society, comes next to research, This
last mile development initiative, borders both market and public funding spheres and inherently a
Public Private Partnership Initiative in its own right. These findings can help policy makers,
governments, and practitioners with their implementation in incubator programs, leading to better
planning and a greater chance of success. This paper contributes to enhance the understanding of
business incubator, startups and government policies for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship
culture in nation and provides useful information to both academicians and practitioners who are
interested in the field of business incubator and policy framework programs.
1. INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurial spirit and risk taking ability are key to the growth of any nation. The Startup India
Action Plan and Digital India campaign was released by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on January
16, 2016 giving a clarion call for India to move from a job seeking nation to a nation of job creators.
A series of measures are being taken by NITI AYOG of Government of India in co-ordination with
Department of Science and Technology, Department of Entrepreneurship and Skill Development,
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and
the Department of Human Resource Development to build a world class Startup Ecosystem in India. At
the State Level, many states have also released State Level Startup Policies.
Potential Entrepreneurs are too precious to be missed out. They need to be identified, supported,
nurtured and leveraged to success for the benefit of all in the society. Since they are the only sources of
new value creation, innovation, new wealth creation and most importantly new jobs generation, their
role as agents of economic growth, can never be overstated. While we all are convinced with the
efficiency of market economies and its ability to create sustainable quality livelihoods in majority of
the cases of development, still there are pockets of development areas where markets fail to deliver.
Primary education, Health Care, Basic and some Applied Research sectors are some examples where
public funding is required and which is being used heavily to enhance our growth and development. In
the development spectrum, Incubation, the strategic vehicle for taking research and knowledge based
products to the society, comes next to Research, This last mile development initiative, borders both
market and public funding spheres and inherently a Public Private Partnership Initiative in its own right.
Incubation is a business support process that accelerates the successful development of start-up and
fledgling companies, also referred to as ‘clients’ [of the incubator], by providing entrepreneurs with an
array of targeted resources and services. These services are usually developed or orchestrated by
incubator management and offered both in the business incubator and through its network of contacts.
Business Incubation thus can be said to refer to complex services and special environment provided
temporarily for start-up enterprises with the aim of improving their chance of survival in the early phase
of the life span and establishing their later intensive growth.
Business incubation formally began in the US in the 1960s, and later developed in the UK and Europe
through various related forms (Example: Innovation centres, technoparks/science parks). It is
recognized as a way of meeting a variety of economic and socio-economic policy needs which can
include:
In general, an incubator is a physical location that provides a defined set of services to individuals or
small companies. This may include specific types of office space, flexible lease terms, access to
technology, financing, and technical assistance (such as marketing, legal, finance, HR, and other
business development services). By locating similar or complementary entities in proximity to each
other, the incubator may also play a critical role in promoting knowledge transfer, both formally and
informally.
Currently a clear definition of a ‘Startup’ does not exist in the Indian context due to the subjectivity and
complexity involved. Considering various parameters pertaining to any business such as the stage of
their lifecycle, the amount and level of funding achieved, the amount of revenue generated, the area of
operations, etc., some conceptual definitions are available in the public domain. These have been
sourced and enumerated below to provide an indicative understanding on the space to the reader. The
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has worked around a clear definition for startups
for Government of India policy interventions. They have defined startups as a company incorporated or
registered in India not prior to five years, with annual turnover not exceeding INR 25 crore in any
preceding financial year, working towards innovation, development, deployment or commercialization
of new products, processes or services driven by technology or intellectual property
How come the global car companies didn’t come up with the idea, they certainly have all the resource
needed. How come a startup consisting of just few people with barely any resources can out-compete a
big global company when it comes to digital innovation. Partly answer lies in the economics of the
digital innovation, it has never been as easy and as cheap as today to launch digital product or services.
Startups are no just small version of a big company, they are different. The key difference between a
startup and a big company is that a startup does not have a business model, it’s in the process of
discovering a business model and that’s at the core of the disruptive force. Because of the digital age
disruption doesn’t really come from technology, it comes from companies being able to take one part
of the value chain and redefining it, on that basis rebuilding the business architecture of entire industry.
Source: Morgan Brown on What It Takes to Grow a Startup, Growth Marketing Conference, November 26, 2015
The third wave of startups were founded in the dot-com era, included marketplaces, e-commerce
vendors, and portals. The fourth wave started around 2007-08, and comprised e-commerce, logistics,
marketplaces, and advertising startups.
Ecosystem players such as TiE, NASSCOM, iSPIRT, and various incubators & accelerators such as
CIIE, IIIT Hyderabad, Startup Village, 10000 Startups, Microsoft Ventures, have significantly
increased the maturity of the ecosystem by providing a platform for entrepreneurs to learn and grow
very quickly.
Angel Investors come into the picture when a start-up has not yet started making profits. These are
people, who are generally rich and have faith in the organization, in return for ownership equity or
convertible debt.
Venture Capitalists provide funds to a company in its growth stage, provided it has a strong
organizational and technological model in place. Venture Capitalists expect high returns on their
investments in order to counter the high risks involved, and expect an eventual realization of their
investments when the company issues an IPO, or goes in for a merger/acquisition.
IPOs are offered by a company when it is relatively stable and making good profits, and wants to expand
further through public investments. Although there is no collateral or guarantee provided to the public
investors, the company is expected to give them a share of the profits, or a capital distribution in case
of dissolution of the company.
Thus, an entrepreneur has to analyze various situations before selecting a financing option, or deciding
WHEN to move from one option to another; the correct decision taken at the correct time can result in
great benefits, not only for the start-up venture and the entrepreneur, but also for all the stakeholders
involved.
Source: https://tapmiblogs.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/startups-in-india-their-funding/
Policy Interventions: Indian government aims to build an ecosystem that promotes entrepreneurship at
the startup level and has taken a number of initiatives to ensure that the startup businesses get
appropriate support.
3. CHALLENGES
3.1.1. Talent
For a startup in India, it is difficult to attract and hire the right talent and skilled workers at a time
when the economy is witnessing a booming private sector with a plethora of multinationals setting
shop and hiring talent
Culture issues associated with taking risks and dealing with failures have prohibited people from
venturing out with an entrepreneurial spirit. People are conscious about risks and rewards, India
being a price sensitive market. In addition, not everyone is flexible enough to work in a startup
A startup often cannot match the compensation packages offered at larger companies nor is a startup
job seen as a steady one
3.1.2. Funding
Challenges in raising funds remain the primary concern, especially during the starting stage, given
no credit history or track record of the company. Also, there is limited number of credit rating firms
for small and medium enterprises
Over the past few years, investors have put in billions of dollars into hundreds of startups, many of
which have grown into thriving businesses. However, many analysts believe that raising funding in
later stages of business could become difficult to sustain their operations.
Many Internet companies delay putting in efforts for revenue generation and focus more on raising
investment from different channels. As a result, once the funding halts, trouble looms large with
low revenue figures
Effective cash management is an issue in the short and long term. Cash being the primary channel
of payment, electronic payments are still not popular owing to absence of complete penetration to
Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Flawed business models and revenue strategies lead to failure of many startups
Government and private sector investors have funds through investment channels but such funding
is not available for all forms of businesses. For such startups, the biggest problem is to gain investor
trust and appropriate funding
3.1.3. Growth
Appropriate IT infrastructure is a current need given growing number of consumers coming online.
Without an impetus to the right and timely technology in the country, growth of businesses will not
happen. Cyber risks and lack training of employees on security platforms are acting as roadblocks
for startups to prosper
Mentorship of talent is very important as a lot of these startups are having a young workforce with
some very unique ideas that needs direction for reaping effective results. There is lack of formal
mechanism to mentor startups in the country and help them grow beyond the setup stage
Lack of an effective branding strategy is another issue that hampers startups from flourishing
speedily
Indian market is highly unorganized and fragmented, acting as a big hurdle for startups to succeed
Lack of awareness of potential that exists for their startup businesses prohibits growth.
Some of the other challenges in this sector include managing business with intense competitive
environment, maintaining a sustainable business, technology design, regulatory framework, and
intellectual property rights. According to the IAMAI survey, issues such as regulatory framework and
monetisation of business model are not bigger concerns for startups as compared to the primary problem
of raising funds.
COMPLIANCE
To reduce regulatory burden Compliance regime based on self-certification
Startups shall be allowed to self-certify compliance with labour and
environment laws
No inspection will be done for labour laws for three years
Self-certify compliance for environment laws for “white” category
startups
To create a single point of Created Startup India hub to enable knowledge exchange and access
Contact to funding
The hub will provide guidance on all aspects of startup lifecycle and
organize mentorship programs
To simplify startup process Rolling-out of mobile app and portal
A startup will be able to set up by just filling up a short form through a
mobile app and online portal that will be launched in April 2016. In
addition, the App shall provide a collaborative platform with a national
network of stakeholders (including venture funds, incubators, academia,
mentors etc.). The Startup portal shall have similar functionalities (being
offered through the mobile app)
To promote awareness and Legal support and fast-tracking patent examination at lower costs
adoption of Intellectual Various measures have been taken to facilitate filling of patents,
Property Rights (IPRs) trademarks and designs by startups including fast-tracking of startup
patent applications, panel of facilitators to provide general advisory on
different IPRs, government bearing facilitation cost and 80% rebate on
filing of application vis-à-vis other companies
To provide an equal platform to Relaxed Norms of Public Procurement for Startups
Startups (in the manufacturing Government shall exempt Startups (in the manufacturing sector) from the
sector) in public procurement vis- criteria of “prior experience/turnover” in bidding for Government entity or
à-vis the experienced companies PSU work without any relaxation in quality standards or technical
parameters.
To make it easier for Startups Faster exit for startups
to wind up business Startups with simple debt structures may be wound up within a period of
90 days from making of an application for winding up on a fast track basis
FUNDING SUPPORT AND INCENTIVES
To provide funding support Providing Funding Support through a Fund of Funds
In order to provide funding support to Startups, Government will set up a
fund with an initial corpus of INR 2,500 crore and a total corpus of INR
10,000 crore over a period 4 years (i.e. INR 2,500 crore per year). The
Fund of Funds shall be managed by a Board with private professionals
from industry bodies
To providing credit and ensure Credit Guarantee Fund for Startups
smooth operations Credit guarantee mechanism through National Credit Guarantee Trust
Company/ SIDBI is being envisaged with a budgetary Corpus of INR 500
crore per year for the next four years
TAX INCENTIVES
If India aims to be #1 destination for startups ecosystem globally, then India should move from country
of prototypes to country of products. It is observed that number of ideas our young students have is
mind boggling, but the proportion of the proof-of-ideas that has become prototypes and the prototypes
which have grown to products is extremely small. If a startup nation has to build on tens of thousands
of ideas already developed or are in process of development all over the country in various academic*
and other institution, then emerging innovation and entrepreneurship policy should fill this gap. As
innovation and entrepreneurship becomes an even greater force in economic growth, universities and
colleges will be the vanguard in discovering that innovation and in nurturing the entrepreneurs that can
create products, services, economic value, and high-quality jobs.
A University is supposed to spark innovation and to help develop new technologies through freedom to
work and through mentorship. A University is able to do so if it is able to create an entrepreneurial
culture and has built an effective connectivity with industries. Incubators, either as a part of the
University or as an entity outside the university, help build the products in close proximity of inventors
whose inputs are essential for further development. They also play a crucial role in reducing overall
cost of technology and ventures development. There is a great need to infuse strong startup culture
across 759 universities promoting pre-incubation support to students. The success of both the University
and the Business Incubator can be facilitated by policies of Governments. If Governmental entities,
along with Financial Institutions, are able to understand the challenges faced by Student Start-Ups and
if they work jointly with the Universities, they can build a vibrant environment for new enterprises.
There are several steps that can be taken in consistence with policy initiatives been taken by NITI
Aayog, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Department of Science & Technology,
Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India etc.
There is a need to create systematic outreach to engage various stakeholders such as policy makers,
startup founders, financial institutions, business incubators, universities, civil society, industries, who
are working in isolation today. Real-time agile policy involving grassroot level actors and various
stakeholders is needed in consistence with other government policies. Innovative funding mechanism
needs to be developed by financial institutions with help from government to fast-track delivery
especially at seed and post-incubation phase.
*According to report dated 05.07.2016 of University Grant Commission, there are 759 universities in
India.
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