India needs to create mega-Unicorns of $100 billion valuation: Jayant Sinha
, ET Online|
Updated: Dec 15, 2017, 11.58 AM IST
NEW DELHI: If China can have companies like Alibaba and Tencent that are nearing $500 billion in market cap, we need to start talking about having "mega Unicorns" with $100 billion in valuation, says Minister of State, Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha.
With the 16th edition of TiE's annual conclave kicking off today, the capital city has become a hotspot for entrepreneurs, investors and other stakeholders of the Indian startup ecosystem. Themed 'Re-Imagining Success', TiEcon this year was put in motion by Sinha as he cut through the frosty morning with a motivational keynote address.
"I believe that the best is yet to come and that is outlined in this year's tagline - dare to dream," said Sinha. "I firmly believe that the future of the country belongs to innovators who can potentially unlock vast industries," he added.
According to the minister, the startup ecosystem has the muscle to churn out not just billion dollar unicorns, but companies with 10 and 100 billion dollar market caps - appropriately terming them super and mega unicorns, respectively.
"That is the challenge I present to you," Sinha said, addressing an audience packed with entrepreneurs, investors and collaborators. "We are already seeing quite a few large companies coming out of this wave of innovation, like Flipkart, Olacabs and Paytm," he added.
The minister illustrated his point taking the example of India's thriving IT landscape. "TCS and Infosys set the ball rolling for the country's ITeS sector in the 90s and today they collectively have a market cap of over 100 billion dollars. If this has been possible in one industry, there is nothing stopping us from continuing that streak in another, provided we dream big," he said.
Why is this important for India in particular and the world at large?
"Today, it has become imperative not just to Make in India, but to Innovate in India as well," said Sinha. "Flipkart's cash-on-delivery scheme prompted a big player like Amazon to keep up with innovation happening in India," he added.
According to him, Indian startups must deliver products and services keeping in mind 80% of the functionality at 20% of the price.
"This is because that is the reality of the Indian mass market," he said. "If they do that, that will enable us to solve problems for the world.'1 GB of data, which was priced at Rs 1000 not long ago, is now available at for Rs 10 - it is cheaper than anywhere else in the world today, with Jio being the largest provider. This has been possible because we have dared to dream," he added.
TiE's annual conclave will go on for two days starting today. Themed 'Re-Imagining Success', more than 150 speakers from the corporate and the startup ecosystem are expected to speak in about 50 different sessions.
With the 16th edition of TiE's annual conclave kicking off today, the capital city has become a hotspot for entrepreneurs, investors and other stakeholders of the Indian startup ecosystem. Themed 'Re-Imagining Success', TiEcon this year was put in motion by Sinha as he cut through the frosty morning with a motivational keynote address.
"I believe that the best is yet to come and that is outlined in this year's tagline - dare to dream," said Sinha. "I firmly believe that the future of the country belongs to innovators who can potentially unlock vast industries," he added.
According to the minister, the startup ecosystem has the muscle to churn out not just billion dollar unicorns, but companies with 10 and 100 billion dollar market caps - appropriately terming them super and mega unicorns, respectively.
"That is the challenge I present to you," Sinha said, addressing an audience packed with entrepreneurs, investors and collaborators. "We are already seeing quite a few large companies coming out of this wave of innovation, like Flipkart, Olacabs and Paytm," he added.
The minister illustrated his point taking the example of India's thriving IT landscape. "TCS and Infosys set the ball rolling for the country's ITeS sector in the 90s and today they collectively have a market cap of over 100 billion dollars. If this has been possible in one industry, there is nothing stopping us from continuing that streak in another, provided we dream big," he said.
Why is this important for India in particular and the world at large?
"Today, it has become imperative not just to Make in India, but to Innovate in India as well," said Sinha. "Flipkart's cash-on-delivery scheme prompted a big player like Amazon to keep up with innovation happening in India," he added.
According to him, Indian startups must deliver products and services keeping in mind 80% of the functionality at 20% of the price.
"This is because that is the reality of the Indian mass market," he said. "If they do that, that will enable us to solve problems for the world.'1 GB of data, which was priced at Rs 1000 not long ago, is now available at for Rs 10 - it is cheaper than anywhere else in the world today, with Jio being the largest provider. This has been possible because we have dared to dream," he added.
TiE's annual conclave will go on for two days starting today. Themed 'Re-Imagining Success', more than 150 speakers from the corporate and the startup ecosystem are expected to speak in about 50 different sessions.
