The new initiative will connect the startup ecosystems of India and Qatar and help the economies of both countries prosper. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs MEA said that the India-Qatar Business Forum will result in new networking opportunities for trade and investment between both sides. The MEA said that Invest India and the Qatar Investment Promotion Agency have reached an understanding on cooperation to promote two-way investment between the two countries.
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Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu launched the India-Qatar Startup Bridge at the India-Qatar Business Forum on Sunday June 5.
The new initiative will connect the Indian and Qatari startup ecosystems and help the economies of both countries prosper.
While addressing the event, Naidu highlighted the strength of India-Qatar ties and called for building an enabling environment. He also mentioned that more collaborations should be formed for mutual benefit.
During the meeting, Naidu and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani also discussed the growing bilateral ties between the two nations in areas such as trade, investment, economic and security cooperation.
Naidu further spoke about India commitment to deepen bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, energy, food security, defense, technology, culture, education, health, media and people-to-people contacts.
The three-day India-Qatar Business Forum is organized by FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM and the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Several industrialists from India and Qatar also attended the event.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the India-Qatar Business Forum will result in new networking opportunities for trade and investment between the two sides. He also said that Qatar FDI in India exceeds $450 million and there is great potential to increase these investments.
The MEA said that Invest India and the Qatar Investment Promotion Agency have reached an understanding on cooperation to promote two-way investment between the two countries, as shared by the ministry.
Bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded $15 billion in fiscal year 2021-22. Over the past two years, Qatar has invested more than $2 billion in various Indian companies, according to the statement.
India Startup Ecosystem
India currently has more than 70,000 start-up working in various sectors in the country, a massive drop in the count of startups working in 2014 (300-400 startups were registered in 2014), according to Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State and Union trade.
In May, India got its 100th unicorn: neobank startup Open which raised $50 million from IIFL, Temasek, Tiger Global and 3one4 Capital.
According to a report, Indian startups raised $70 billion in total between 2014 and 2020, while, in the first four months of 2022, the startup ecosystem raised $14.3 billion in funding, which represented a double increase compared to the $7.33 billion raised by Indian startups in the first quarter of 2021.
In early 2022, the startup ecosystem saw massive growth; however, the sector is collapsing due to a market correction, an impending recession and a financial crisis.
Indian startups are also feeling the effects of the Russian war, rising federal interest rates and other geopolitical crises.