A GUIDETHE INNOVATIONTOECOSYSTEM

OF

INDIA

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The guide presents the main business opportunities, the mostimportant leads, and most interesting stakeholders, as seenfrom a Danish perspective. We give you a realistic understanding of the local startup scene based on first-hand experienceand on-the-spot dialogues.

PREFACEThis publication has been developed by Asia House and
TechBBQ as part of a series of guides to innovation ecosystems in the China Bay Area and Taiwan, India, Japan, Korea,
and Singapore.
The series is published as part of the non-profit initiative

This guide gives you a quick introduction to
the Indian innovation ecosystem, with special focus on
Bangalore, where most of the startups and stakeholders
are located, and Hyderabad, one of the fastest
growing ecosystems in India

Innovation Lab Asia to improve and enhance cooperation between Danish and Asian innovation ecosystems. The project is
supported by the Danish Industry Foundation.
For further information and guidance, contact:
ASIA HOUSEPeter Johansen, Project Manager

TECHBBQ
Lisa Mallner, Lead Consultant

MAIL
hello@innovationlabasia.dk

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WHY INDIA?

India is the world’s largest emerging market, and there
is a huge demand for smart and cost-efficient solutions
within most areas, be it water, waste, energy, health,food, agriculture, or finance.

Add to this cheap living, a large and skilled English-speaking
population, several vibrant innovation ecosystems withrelatively easy access to key decision-makers compared tomany other locations, and strong historical ties with Europe.
What’s not to like?
Yet the fact is that very few Danish startups go to India. Why?

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INDIAFirstly, there are hardly any role models in terms other Nordic•

More than half the Indian population isunder 25 years of age•

The number of Indian internet users
doubled from 250 million in 2014 to 500
million in 2019•

India’s position on the World Bank’s Easeof Doing Business index went from# 120 in 2017 to # 77 in 2019, a record
improvement•

India has produced 26 unicorns, most ofthem consumer platforms

context. They need to be adapted to the Indian reality, and thismarket for startups, irrespective of their size. Common pitfalls
include a lack of financing and resources required to address
an emerging market.
Finally, Danish startups may have difficulty accessing funding

RISE

India has the 10 fastest-growing cities
in the world

Secondly, Danish products are rarely plug-and-play in an Indian
usually takes time and costs money. India can be a high riskTHE•startups going to India. Without success stories, there is little
motivation to step into unknown territory.

ON

in India. Indian investors tend to fund within the Indian andSouth Asian region. However, there is a large venture capital
flow. If Danish companies need to access this capital, they
will need to establish a local entity, ideally with a strong local
partner, at which point they are more likely to attract local VCs.
Nonetheless, India shouldn’t be ignored by the Danish
startup community. The global importance and connectivityof India are only going to grow, and Danish startups may findbenefits on many levels from increased collaboration with
Indian counterparts.
Not only are the direct market opportunities immense,
especially within B2B, but India is also a suitable testbed
for co-creation and product adaptation toward emerging
markets. India is a highly competitive and price conscious
market, and relatively free of foreign aid and government
subsidies. Thus, solutions created here will be competitive inother emerging markets.
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MAIN ECOSYSTEM OVERVIEW

HYDERABAD
•

DELHI
•

Delhi NCR (National Capital Region) is great
for e-Commerce and consumer services.
The main tech areas are in Noida andGurugram. Delhi is the political center ofIndia and home to some of its best
universities and medical institutions. Delhi
is marred by heavy air pollution, especiallyduring the winter.

MUMBAI•

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Mumbai is the financial capital of India andhas a vibrant Fintech sector. Much of thestartup scene is centered in Powai. The
investors are mainly focused on stocks andbonds though the VC scene is growing.
Mumbai is considered India’s most cosmopolitan city and has a strong corporate
presence. It’s also India’s mostexpensive city.

Hyderabad has a small but rapidly growing
startup scene, especially within Healthtech and Biotech. The ecosystem is more
centralized than other Indian hubs, with the
T-Hub accelerator in Gachibowli as the main
driver. Hyderabad has one of India’s mostefficient and enterprise-friendly
state governments.

BANGALORE•

Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of India, withthe highest number of startups, VCs, andaccelerators in India. Bangalore was thecradle of India’s IT-revolution in the early
1990s and has a strong tradition for entrepreneurship. It also has a high number ofcorporates and some of India’s best technical universities. The traffic is notoriously bad.

CHENNAI•

Chennai is one of India’s main industrial
centers, strong on manufacturing and a
global center for SaaS-development. The
cost of living is considerably lower than in
Mumbai and Delhi, and the state government is known to be quite efficient.

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THE
ECOSYSTEM
AT A GLANCEBANGALORE

Bangalore is the cradle of the Indian tech revolution.
Starting in the 1980s as the preferred destination forbusiness process outsourcing, the city is now moving
up the value chain, and becoming a center for R&D.
More than 400 R&D centers are spread across the city,
especially within information and biotechnology.

Today, Bangalore is one of the strongest tech centers of theworld and a favorite destination for foreign multinationals
in India. Danish corporates like Danske Bank, Novo Nordisk,
Novozymes, and Maersk are all tapping into the Bangalore
ecosystem, establishing facilities for both service and support,
as well as R&D.

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A

The heavy presence of foreign corporates has transformed

By 2035 Bangalore’s population is expected
to hit 18 million, and its GDP USD 283 billion,
up from present USD 80 billion•

At 900 meters altitude, the Bangalore
climate is more temperate than any otherlarge Indian city•

Once known as the “Garden City” of India,
Bangalore now suffers from heavy traffic•

Bangalore is officially known as Bengaluru

pool. Bangalore is home to some of India’s best technicaluniversities, skilled talent can be sourced at competitive wages:

BANGALORE•

Being the cradle of home-grown giants like Infosys andtechnical flair. The development is driven by a strong talentON

Bangalore is India’s fastest growing metropolis, with the population increasing from 4
million to 12 million since 1990

professional language, and Indian co-workers are often familiar

Wipro, Bangalore is also a magnet for entrepreneurs with a

FACTS

•

Bangalore into a highly globalized city. English is the mainwith western cultural codes.

FEWsalaries are about 13 times lower than Silicon Valley and 4 times
lower than the average salary across Asia-Pacific. Bangalore
has the highest number of tech startups in India, and 94% of
the Bangalore-based founders have a technical background, thehighest rate in the world.
The Bangalore innovation ecosystem is driven from thebottom-up, and stakeholders often know each other well. The
ecosystem also enjoys the greatest level of maturity in India,
with a higher number of incubators and accelerators and otherecosystem players. However, the success rates of many ofthese accelerators remain low, due to lack of mentoring andfollow up.
Nonetheless, the innovation ecosystem is improving. The
social stigma of entrepreneurship is fading away, and a
growing number of young Indians are taking their chances.
Funding opportunities are on the rise, with still more VCs andBusiness Angels investing in Bangalore-based startups. Thereis a reason why Bangalore is called the “Silicon Valley of India”.
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THE

MAIN LEADS
In many ways, Bangalore is uncharted territory for Danish
companies. A fair number of large Danish corporations
have established themselves in the city, but hardly any
startups. Market opportunities are immense, but only witha clear and dedicated strategy, long term commitment,
and good partners on the ground. Alternatively, Danish
startups should look to Bangalore not from a narrow
market perspective but from the point of view of
co-creation and data acquisition.

•

The NORDIN Accelerator is a very relevant program for

2020, the second cohort of 26 companies are scheduled

Danish startups looking to scale to India. The accelerator
provides an actual tailormade platform for Danish•

BANGALOREECOSYSTEM•

Bangalore is India’s # 1 startup city•

Bangalore is home to nearly 40% of India’s aerospace technology,
software, and biotech exports•

Bangalore is estimated to have more than 11,000 startups and over
250 active investors•

Bangalore is home to 10 of India’s 26 unicorns•

The startup scene is mainly centered around the areas of Indiranagar
and Koramangala

The Innovation Centre Denmark in Bangalore will assist

The Danish Innovation Center in Bangalore is developing afor Bangalore, now also including Fintech and Healthtech.

AI/ML companies looking for quality datasets to train ma-

four-pronged AI service to help Danish companies find an-

Any Danish startup and SME with relevant solutions andchine learning models. India has several organizations innotation, co-development, data, and testing partners.

companies, assisting with co-creation and producta willingness to invest in India can benefit from this novel

sectors like healthcare, e-commerce, and education that

adaptation, and providing access to Indian mentors andplatform.

are capitalizing on data to create AI solutions and often

partners.

provide data to startups for development purposes.

The accelerator was launched in 2019 by Asia House in

Indian firms also provide data annotation services, test-

Copenhagen, Greentech Challenge, the Confederation

ing grounds for AI solutions, and help AI startups identify

of Danish Industry, and the Danish Innovation Center inand solve complexities that would otherwise not be easily

Bangalore. In September 2019 the first cohort of 11 Danish

recognized in more structured environments.

Foodtech and Greentech companies venture to India. In
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OTHER LEADS
Innovation Lab Asia has established contacts withseveral interesting organizations in Bangalore thatmight prove relevant for Danish startups. We canfacilitate further contact if needed.

•

Maersk OceanPro is a corporate accelerator that pro-•

C-Camp is perhaps India’s most renowned bio-incubator.

vides specific use cases within the logistics and maritime

Located on the lush compound of the National Centre for

sectors, for Indian and international startups. Launched in

Biological Sciences (NCBS), C-Camp is an ideal landing spot

2018, OceanPro provides a soft-landing spot for startups

for early stage biotech startups and is already engaged inand covers the costs of Proof of Concept-implementation.

several international collaborations, including Copenhagen

Depending on the use case, startups do not need to be

University, Novozymes, and the HelloScience-platform.

physically located in Bangalore.
•

Shell E4 is a corporate accelerator established in 2017 andhas seen two cohorts of Indian startups. Now, Shell E4 islaunching an International Track and looking to partner withforeign B2B startups within energy-related sectors. The program provides soft-landing, use cases, and access to advanced laboratory facilities.

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OTHER GATEWAYS &ACCESS POINTS•

91 Springboard is a chain of coworking spaces provid-•

Startup India is the flagship initiative of the Indian gov-

ing basic startup support, including legal assistance, busi-

ernment, intended to build a strong ecosystem that isness registration services, pitch training, and investor ac-

conducive to the growth of startup businesses to drive

cess. This popular Indian coworking space is inexpensive,

sustainable economic growth and generate large scaleefficient, well-connected, and has offices across India.

employment opportunities. Their mission is to empow-

Presently, they have six locations in Bangalore alone, so

er startups to grow through innovation and design.

you’re sure to find a spot close to where you need to be.
••

Let’s Venture is an online platform that connects startups

YourStory provides news coverage of the Indian ecosys-

and investors. In 2017, Let’s Venture raised USD 6.5 million

tem, be it quick reads on the latest startup success, or in-on its platform and facilitated 23 deals and 4900+ connec-

depth articles on trends. Yourstory.com is India’s largest

tions.

media portal for startups, and investors.
•

Inc42 is another leading Indian media and information

BEWARE

platform, known for its in-depth coverage of the Indian
startup ecosystem and data-backed news and analysis.

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OF

B2C

•

Expensive Danish consumer brands will only
be relevant for a small segment of Indians•

The Indian consumer market may be difficult
to navigate for Danish startups•

Danish minimalism generally doesn’t havethe same appeal in India as - say - Japan,
and Danish design has a relatively low brand
value
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Being one of the largest and richest cities of India, and one of

STRONGHOLDS& OPPORTUNITIES

the world’s great innovation hubs, Bangalore is naturally mostdiversified in terms of strongholds and opportunities. All theclassic verticals are in play, both in relation to supply and demand.
However, the one basic premise to keep in mind is this: Bangalore- and India as a whole - is a high growth emerging economy,
facing rapid population growth, massive urbanization, andserious environmental issues. Solutions need to be extremely
cost efficient and highly scalable.
In this report we will be focusing on Healthtech, Foodtech,and Fintech, as these all carry a relatively strong Danish value
proposition, and all have been subject to previous Danish
initiatives in Bangalore.
This is not to say that Danish Greentech startups shouldn’t
consider Bangalore or India. Indeed, there is a huge demand
for solutions within waste and water management, and one ofour main leads - the NORDIN accelerator - has Greentech as a
primary focus area.

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HEALTHTECH& LIFE SCIENCE•

The demand for healthcare solutions in India is expected to•

There is a high demand for specialized, high-tech medical

hit USD 374 billion by 2022, mainly driven by rising incomes,

equipment, though low-cost alternatives from China may

greater health awareness, better access to health insur-

pose a challenge for Danish companies.

ance, an increased prevalence of lifestyle diseases, anda booming medical tourism industry. Much of the growth•International collaboration is on the rise. ICDK India

is expected to be privately driven, as India has one of thehas carried out an innovation camp for Healthtech startups

highest levels of private healthcare spending in the world.

from Denmark. SwissNex has a similar program for Swiss
startups, and the Netherlands has created an Indo-Dutch•

The Indian Healthtech ecosystem is mainly centeredliving lab for eHealth. Sweden and India have created bilat-

around the cities of Bangalore and Hyderabad, though theeral innovation challenges in the space of life sciences andcities of Pune and Chennai are also on the rise. In Banga-

biomedical devices and the UK-India Healthcare AI Catalyst

lore, the ecosystem has evolved organically, with a multi-(HAIC) has paved the way for AI related organizations fromtude of research organizations and hospitals, corporates,

the UK.

and startups working closely together. In Hyderabad, theecosystem is fueled by a strong presence of multinational•

Danish startups may benefit from opportunities

medical companies, and efficient policy measures laid out

within affordable testing and POC for their solutions,by the local government.

especially within private sector hospitals and clinics. Also,
AI/ML-startups may benefit from the availability of large•

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Access to smartphones and the internet are fueling thehealthcare datasets at a relatively low cost. Co-creating

growth of Indian Healthtech startups, especially within thewith Indian partners may provide the basis for developing

fields of home healthcare, remote healthcare, wellness, andlow cost Healthtech solutions that might have a competi-disease prevention.

tive edge in both Europe and emerging markets.

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FOODTECH & AGRITECH•

Food and Agriculture are the fastest growing sectors in In-

to farmers who see great potential in solutions that

dia in terms of revenue and represent some of the greatest

improve productivity or bring them closer to their local

opportunities for Danish companies. The Indian food mar-markets.

ket is expected to grow from USD 350 billion in 2017 to USD
650 billion in 2020, and the patterns of consumption are••

It may prove a challenge to attract the attention of

expected to change drastically owing to rising income lev-

urban-centric investors. Most Indian Agritech startups,

els and rapid urbanization. Finally, the sector is subject toparticularly the big VC-funded ones, are metropolitan. Theystrong political attention; the rural vote is key to reelection,

have founders with nonrural backgrounds and they cater toand the government aims to double the average farmers’

urban demand, the bulk of which are copycats of solutions

income by 2022.

to problems from other, typically western cities.

There is an immediate need for new and innovative solu-•

The main opportunities for Danish startups lie in thetions, offering huge opportunities for Foodtech and Ag-

B2B-field, especially within dairy and food processing.

ritech startups. Funding for Agritech startups in India

India may also prove a valid testing ground for solutions

grew from USD 46.1 million in 2017 to USD 66.6 million inand products directed at other emerging markets. For in-

2018. Challenges for agriculture in India include small andstance, India has 15 major climates and 46 out of 60 soil

fragmented land holdings, decreasing groundwater lev-types in the world. With such large diversity, India makes forels, poor quality of seeds, lack of mechanization, low yielda great research base.

per crop unit, and dependence on middlemen. The entire
value chain needs to be improved.

•The

increased

availabilityofbudgetsmartphones

and cheap access to high-speed internet are helping
B2F (Business 2 Farmer) companies with direct access
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FINTECH••

The Indian Fintech sector is booming. Between 2012 andto build a digital ecosystem around Aadhaar, the world’s

2017, almost 20% of all VC investment in Bangalore went

largest biometric database covering the entire Indian pop-

into Fintech startups, making it the largest local sub-sector

ulation. The India Stack infrastructure is unique for India

by means of venture investment.

and is set to be replicated across Asia and Africa.

The two main Fintech centers are Mumbai and Bangalore.

•

The Danish Fintech sector is particularly strong in mobile

Mumbai is home to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the mainbanking technology, with peer to peer money transfer be-

stock exchange, and most commercial banks, and thus has

ing used extensively. This reflects the Indian market, wherea natural edge within Fintech. Bangalore has managed tomobile adoption rates and increased digital transac-

get startup founders to relocate to the city with its lure oftion volumes could be interesting for Danish startups.

technology talents, tech-savvy consumers, and culture of

Much of the Fintech software in India also needs to be de-encouraging innovation.

signed for ease of use and simplicity. What Denmark could
bring to the Indian FinTech market is its extensive experi-•

The Indian Fintech boom is driven by a boom in the num-

ence with digitization, data, and UX/UI design.

ber of mobile and internet users in India and an increasedsocial acceptance and trust in digital payments. Now, even•

Potential entry barriers include the need for approval fromsmall family stores, tuk-tuk drivers, and street vendors are

regulatory authorities like the RBI, which may take fromaccepting digital forms of payment.

3-6-months (though mainly for companies who work withremittances, insurance, etc.). Also, working with big banks•

The rapid development of India’s digital infrastructure

could be a resource heavy undertaking. Finally, most peo-

- especially India Stack - will provide unique opportu-

ple in India lack a credit history.

nities for Indian and foreign startups. India Stack is a setof APIs’ that allow governments, startups, and businesses

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NEW KID ON
THE BLOCKHYDERABAD28

The innovation ecosystem of Hyderabad is growing
fast, fueled by good governance, ample funding, andinnovation-friendly policies. Hyderabad is the capital of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the two
top ranking states (# 1 and # 2 respectively) on the
Indian ease of doing business index.

The innovation ecosystem in Hyderabad is naturally much

Hyderabad is especially strong on Healthtech and Biotech. It’s

smaller than Bangalore and consolidated around the pub-a global factory for vaccines and the Indian location for many

lic-private accelerator T-Hub. However, the smaller size may

medical multinationals. Thus, T-Hub may be the place forwork as an advantage. Hyderabad may be easier to navigate

Indo-Danish Healthtech collaboration and innovation, be

for foreign startups compared to Bangalore, which has a more

it for Indian companies looking for partners to scale to Europe

diversified ecosystem. Additionally, T-Hub enjoys strong andwith cost efficient solutions, or Nordic companies seeking tostable government support – always an advantage in India.

access emerging markets.

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T-HUB
T-Hub seeks to establish a functional market access platform

The IMAB program requires external financing, and the partici-

for foreign startups looking to India. The International Market

pation costs vary based on how comprehensive a program theAccess Bridge (IMAP) covers all relevant activities; from ini-

startup needs. T-Hub only accepts startups they believe cantial screening and selection of companies to virtual meetings,

truly scale into the Indian market, and startups are assessed

preparation and capacity building, and 3-4 months on the

not only on market readiness but on their potential for successground activity in India with mentors and resident entrepre-

in India. Some of these criteria can be found on T-Hub’s website.

neurs. The complete program runs over an 8-9-month period.
The IMAB-program builds on real international experience,starting in 2017 with Israeli, Austrian, Dutch, and South Korean
startups joining the accelerator. The program has since grown
to include an international cohort for each period.

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31This report has beendeveloped by

In a collaboration
betweenWith support from

Asia House
32|

Indiakaj 16, Copenhagen|www.innovationlabasia.dk|

hello@innovationlabasia.dk