Over a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Startup India initiative, the government has launched the Startup India Virtual Hub, according to a report by Inc42.
Inaugurated by Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, it will serve as an online platform for the startup ecosystem and all its stakeholders to discover, collaborate, connect and engage with each other.
The portal will have startups, investors, funds, mentors, incubators, accelerators, government bodies, academic and general users.
Startup India Hub began operations on April 1, 2016 to resolve queries and provide handholding to support startups.
The portal has been live for a month already in the pilot phase. Over 500 stakeholders have participated in the pilot. Some of the prominent names include 91springboard, a-IDEA, Aim Smartcity, Amazon Launchpad and Edugild.
According to Startup India Virtual Hub, This is the first government website in India to be built on an open API architecture allowing seamless integration of content from Government and private stakeholders across India and the world.
The platform has been developed with the support of Noida-based digital technology startup ‘To The New’, that won the bid as a tech vendor.
The hub has different sections such as Startups, Enablers, and Forum, with easy-to-filter sub-sections to get a quick snapshot of the relevant information.
The idea is to solve the problem of information asymmetry and lack of access to knowledge, tools, and experts, especially in the nascent ecosystem across smaller towns.
This hub will serve as a one-stop source of collating all the information and connecting the required stakeholders of the ecosystem.
There will be regular updates from the startup world with information gathered from over 20 media channels.
One can also get updates on ongoing government and startup-related events and competitions. There will also be a discussion forum for queries to be answered and thoughts shared on one platform.
The Startup India Hub will be managed by a 15-member team under the direct guidance of the Department of Industrial Technology and Innovation (DIPP).
“The platform is more like LinkedIn for the Startup Ecosystem. It not only brings startups and investors together but aims to bring together entire communities, be it startups, incubators or accelerators, to work towards the greater good of the nation, if synergies are met,” Aditya Sharma, Manager, Startup India Hub said
This platform can also be accessed via apps available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.