The first edition of IMPART SUMMIT-2023 that was hosted by Nilah Advisors, evoked a representation of the Indian startup ecosystem and investment potentialities on the global front. This invite-only event was held in the country's two large startup hubs, Delhi and Bengaluru in the month of February 2023. The roadshow provided the Korean investors a glimpse of investment and partnership opportunities in India.
Korean investors are excited to see the steady growth and the progress made by the Indian startup ecosystem in the last couple of decades. There also seems to be a renewed interest from many Korean startups to have a base in India and cater to the Indian market. Nilah Advisors has been instrumental in bridging this gap and has worked closely with NIPA in India for their startup accelerator program to help Korean startups expand businesses to India.
Understanding, Building and Way-forward
The roadshow was an all-in-one and well curated 6 days schedule where the investors got to meet and interact with the Government bodies, top Indian VC firms, startup founders and Korean startups & investor community present in India.
Seeing is believing. Hence, it was important to have the investors delegation visit India in person and experience India as a whole.
Founder of Nilah Advisors, Ms. Sowmya Keshava says, “Indian culture is truly diverse and vibrant. We wanted the delegation to take back special memories of India with them. I do think that one needs to experience the ecosystem first hand to gain the confidence to conclude that the opportunity is for real.”
When India-Korea Startup Hub was established to link the Indian and Korean Startup ecosystems closer and build a joint innovation between two economies, it became a significant role for Nilah Advisors to deliver firsthand experience of India to Korean investors’ delegation.
Key Highlights:
- The Republic of Korea is the 13th largest FDI investor in India, investing $5,345.44 mn (South Korea) from April 2000 - Sep 2022.
- In 2019, Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi inaugurated the “India - Korea Startup Hub’ to increase cooperation in the fields of research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Invest India and Korean SMEs and Startup Agency (KOSME) signed an MoU in April 2021 to formalise the engagement to support both countries' Startups, SMEs and VC ecosystem.
- It is believed that Korea has provisioned for a budget of about US$ 8 billion (10.2 trillion won) this year, and also launched various SMEs support projects such as policy funds, marketing, consulting, and training through its Korea SMEs and startup agency KOSME to ensure that the SMEs based in Korea step out and expand their operations worldwide with prime focus on India.
- Many small and medium-sized venture companies in Korea are eager to enter India as it has a huge consumption market of 1.4 billion and excellent human resources. The Investment ecosystem is not lagging behind on that, they too are gearing up to invest actively in India.
(Source: startupindia.gov.in)
Existing players in the Indian market
Venture Capitalists hailing from South Korea are determined to build their foundation by expanding their investments to India. Amongst such are Krafton Investments, Mirae Assets, KB Ventures and Paramark Investments who have been bullish about Indian startups for the past few years now.
Krafton Investments, the brain behind some of the world’s most popular video games addresses that it has committed $100 Million to the India Market. They aim to be larger than just a gaming company and have been investing in emerging gaming startups in the last couple of years. Some of the notable investments are Kuku FM, Loco, Pratilipi, Lila Games to name a few.
KB Ventures is a top investment firm in venture capital and private equity markets and they invest in venture companies that offer innovative technology service, and entrepreneurship. Some of their investments include Paytm, Shiprocket, Vedantu, Reshamandi and BharatPe.
Paramark Ventures focuses on early-stage investments with high growth potential in fast-growing markets around the world, with a particular focus on India. Paramark Ventures have invested in resplendent startups of India such as Pharmeasy, Vedantu and FarEye.
Reasons why India is attracting capital from Global investors
Post-pandemic was a defining moment in the evolution of the Indian startup scenario. The global pandemic situation has beget the feuling of implementation of online technology globally and more so in India. India is a driven hub for entrepreneurs in technological startups. Many businesses and startups became makeshift online businesses with the help of VC firms.
India has witnessed skilled manpower, the presence of natural resources, liberal FDI policies, a huge domestic market, and speeding and healthy GDP are the reasons for positive foreign inflow in India. We have also seen that many multinational corporations and global firms are looking to shift their manufacturing bases to India.
The key sectors attracting maximum FDI are services segment, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, construction development, automobile, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Core reasons why India is attracting capital from global investors -
- India has attracted a highest-ever FDI inflow of $83.57 bn during the financial year 2021-22. There has been an announcement of a special economic and comprehensive package of more than 270 bn - equivalent to 10 % of India's GDP, under Atmannirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The Indian economy is projecting growth at 6.7%, the fastest in the world. India's real GDP is determined to grow at 7.1% in the financial year of 2023-24. This provides an enormous market potential for a wide range of opportunities across industries. The indicators such as purchasing power parity will create a market for a plethora of new products and services.
- The population of India is expected to rise from 121.1 cr to 152. cr from 2011-36 where the largest chunk of the group is the adolescent youth population. It has the third-largest group of scientists and technicians.
- Global investors are interested in India due to its apparent stability in inflation, fiscal deficit, and growth.
(Source: startupindia.gov.in)
Take - aways for the Korean Investors from IMPART SUMMIT
The significant elements of IMPART SUMMIT for Korean Investors from the on-ground event are as follows:
- The IMPART SUMMIT was not only an investment opportunity but a dive into the culture of India. The Korean investors delegation was able to unravel and experience the vast culture through this roadshow.
- With the visit to Invest India and meetings with Indian Government bodies, Korean Investors realized the potential lying within the diversified startups.
- Meetings with Indian top VC firms helped make new introductions and opportunities to build new relationships for future co-investments.
- The round-table conferences held at the KDEM office, a detailed discussion on India’s big startup opportunities, diversified investment portfolio, GDP accelerating for this financial year and numerous growing sectors of India was discussed.
- Panel discussions at Delhi and Bangalore were an integral part of IMPART SUMMIT 2023. In order to provide the Korean investors delegation with the finer details of current trends like AI/ML startups and India's emerging growth sectors, panel discussions with industry leaders and experts in their respective fields were held in Delhi and Bangalore.
- Networking sessions where informal chat conversations amongst the investors and founders present at IMPART SUMMIT.
Mr. Rancho Lee, APAC Partner of Simsan Ventures who was part of the Korea delegation, says, “It was my first visit to India and it was an awesome experience. I could feel the real potential of the Indian ecosystem and why there has been so much interest from global investors in this market. When Nilah Advisors announced the IMPART SUMMIT, I had to be part of it and come here to witness it myself. The trip has only strengthened our belief in India and Simsan Ventures’ investment philosophy. We look forward to an amazing collaboration and are confident Simsan will be a bridge between India and South Korea together with Nilah Advisors.”
Round Table conference in association with Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM)
The round table conference was chaired by Mr. B V Naidu,Chairman of KDEM and co-chaired by Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, CEO of KDEM.
The session was attended by the Korean investors delegation, Korean VC firms Mr. Ashish Dave, CEO - Mirae Asset, Mr. Sean Sohn, CEO- Krafton India, Ms. Yu Lee, Samsung Investments, Mr. D.K. Kim, Director General, KOTRA (Bangalore), Mr. Sang Ho Weon, Executive Director, NIPA (Bangalore), Mr. Rajeev Suri, Managing Partner - Orios Ventures Partner (& IVCA member), Corporate representation by Mr. Sunil Rao, Head of Strategy & Corporate Business Development, Amazon and Mr. Siddhartha Anand, VP - KDEM.
- A detailed conversation on the core philosophy of the IMPART SUMMIT 2023 that brings two ecosystems closer was made at an extensive length. The talk revolved around developing relationships to enable the collaboration and co-investments between startups, investors, incubators and aspiring entrepreneurs between both countries while providing them with obligatory resources for market penetration and global expansion.
- Insights and information were shared on establishing new relationships between Korea and India through involvement in the India startup ecosystem.
- Discussions on how the Indian Government is striving to diversify the Indian startup ecosystem through new reforms and policies and driving in Foreign Direct Investments. Moreover, the ingenious government initiatives are taken to evolve the ecosystem from traditional market to the Modern-day market.
India is the third-largest startup ecosystem and in terms of unicorns preceded by the USA and China. It is considered to be the world’s fastest-growing economy post-pandemic. Post-covid, spending and investment in India are increasing, which is boosting the domestic and urban sectors.
Sowmya Keshava says, “Indian market is an all-time emerging market for venture capitalists and foreign investors globally. As Nilah Advisors, we are enabling this showcase of opportunities for global investments and creating new avenues for the Indian startup ecosystem. We are determined and thrive everyday to march forward in the coming financial years to bring India on the global map and get recognition as a high potential market for investments and business opportunities. IMPART SUMMIT 2023 was a huge success with the collective efforts of the team and partners.
We look forward to many more engaging opportunities in the months to come.”
