Financing of start-up companies decreases by 20.9%

Initial financing of start-up companies in India fell by 20.9% year-on-year to reach $ 151 million until September of this year, even as investments in these new firms increased by 100%, a development "disturbing", according to the country's first software lobby, Nbadcom.

"What worries us a bit is that we are seeing a steady decline in funding for the seed phase," Debjani Ghosh, president of Nbadcom, told reporters on Thursday.

Mature Companies

Investors were looking for a proven track record and would tend to leave their funds in more mature companies. "So it's not surprising that investors are moving towards growth companies," she said. "They [investors] are also beginning to see consolidation, for example in 2018. It was a great year for funding. 50% of the funding went to the top five offers. Investors are looking for a lot of consolidation. This is where we have to think. What are the alternatives for the seed stage? "

" And that is the question to be asked because it is there that the government plays a role like Japan and China. Because if you start turning off the tap at the seed stage, you kill a lot of innovation: "It's at the seed stage as many new ideas emerge, new innovations appear. This is where the risk takes place. You must therefore ensure that this segment receives adequate funding. For me, it's the only worry about trends. After a brief slowdown in 2016-17, India added more than 1,200 new businesses in 2018, according to a Nbadcom report. India continues to strengthen its position as the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world, bringing the total number of new technology companies to 7,200-7700 from 5,000 to 5,200 last year. Investments in start-up companies increased by more than 100%, from $ 2.2 billion in 2018 to $ 2 billion. The total number of start-up financing contracts, particularly in the final stages (Series C, D, F and F), grew by almost 250%, from $ 847 million in 2017 to $ 3.0 billion. in 2018. Technology start-ups specialized in creating solutions in areas such as artificial intelligence, badysis, augmented reality / virtual reality have experienced a "considerable" increase in 2018 , under the impulse of factors such as according to the report, the increase in the Internet penetration rate, infrastructure improvement for digital transactions and the Internet. Government action in favor of financial inclusion

The implementation of artificial intelligence is also fast becoming a norm, with a compound annual growth rate of 54-58%, as This is reflected in the growth of more than 120% in fasting companies (over $ 150 million invested in 2018).

In addition, young blockchain companies have seen a significant inflow of funds ($ 2 to $ 11 million), with growth of more than 500% in one year. year. [19659002] "We are at a time when the opportunities are enormous. Challenging the status quo will not create growth. We must first focus on innovation, secondly on creating a deep technological talent and ecosystem, and third, bringing together the right policies, "said Ghosh.