Women are making their space in the startup ecosystem in India and they are here to stay. As per a recent survey by Nasscom, in collaboration with Zinnov, on India's startup ecosystem, 18 percent of companies in India have at least one woman founder or co-founder.
Further, 36 percent of unicorns and potential unicorns in India have at least one woman founder or co-founder, mentioned the Zinnov-Nasscom India Tech Start-Up Landscape Report 2022.
“The percentage share of women-founded start-ups across stages of growth is in line with their participation in the ecosystem — indicating equal odds of success compared to their male counterparts. Thus, providing evidence of the women's intent and capability to play a role in the nation's economic growth and the crucial need for accelerating DE&I initiatives,” the report read.
When it comes to deals, 17 percent of all investment deals between 2019-2022 were raised by women-led startups in India.
Indian startup ecosystem also on a rise
As per the report, nearly 1,300 startups were added in India in 2022. This is up 18 percent from 2021.
The number of active tech startups in the country is between 25,000-27,000. This ranks India third after the US and China in terms of startup ecosystem size.
Also read: FM Sitharaman assures startups of ample funding opportunities, says it's a wait for better options
With almost 23 new unicorns added in the calendar year 2022, India also saw the second-highest increase in the number of unicorns in the world.
The total funding for 2022 was $18.2 billion, which is 30 percent less than 2021 but higher in value terms than the previous four-year average.
According to the report, almost 1,400 unique startups received funding in 2022, up 18 percent from 2021. A further 47 percent of these startups raised their first round of funding in 2022.
Despite the slowdown in 2022 due to geopolitical issues and the economic downturn, it was the year that saw the highest seed and early-stage investments between 2019-2022. Additionally, in 2022, 25-35 percent more money was invested in seed stage and early-stage companies as compared to 2021.
The study revealed that both early-stage ($5.9 billion in CY2022) and seed-stage ($1.2 billion in CY2022) investments grew 25-35 percent over 2021.
“There has been a marked expansion in the industries targeted by Indian start-ups and an improvement in the quality of use cases being solved. Most sectors have raised investments greater than they did in 2019, with BFSI, Retail and Retail Tech, Enterprise Tech, and EdTech remaining the most preferred sectors," the report stated.
