Kl Hosts Inaugural India-asean Start-up Summit, Promoting Cross-border Collaboration

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 (Bernama) -- Kuala Lumpur is set to host the first India-ASEAN Start-up Summit (IASS) from Dec 12 to 13, focusing on the collaboration of start-ups from India with their counterparts in Malaysia and other countries in ASEAN, said Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia, B.N. Reddy.

He said the summit, which will be held at Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre, provides an excellent opportunity for developing a vibrant start-up ecosystem between India and Malaysia, and for Malaysia to become a robust hub for its expansion into the broader ASEAN region.

The mega event will witness the participation of several start-ups, including 35 selected start-ups from India, including unicorns, led by Startup India under the Department of Investment and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of India.

This initiative is supported by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and T-Hub from Hyderabad, all participating in the summit. 

"These participating start-ups at the IASS represent diverse sectors of relevance to India, Malaysia and the ASEAN region. They represent the latest innovations in sectors, such as ESG (environmental, social and governance), waste management, Generative AI, aviation and space technologies, edu-tech and health-tech,” said Reddy in a statement. 

He emphasised that the presence of Indian start-ups in Malaysia in such large numbers presents a unique opportunity for Malaysian businesses to forge beneficial collaborations and for Malaysian investors to explore attractive investment opportunities.

India's unprecedented growth of start-ups, now ranking third globally with 116,000 recognised start-ups and 111 unicorns with a valuation of over US$350 billion, sets the stage for productive engagement during the IASS among all stakeholders in the start-up ecosystem, including start-up founders, venture capitalists, policymakers, accelerators and incubators.

The start-up revolution in India is one of the most visible manifestations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision announced in January 2016 to transform India into a country of job creators instead of jobseekers through the launch of the Government of India’s Start-up India initiative.

This vision catalysed a start-up culture and built a strong and inclusive ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in India.

It is backed by the development of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), comprising the “Digital India” initiative – a sustained push towards improving digital infrastructure through “India Stack”, a collection of comprehensive technology applications covering digital identity, digital payment through Unified Payment Interface (UPI), and a personal data management system without compromising privacy.

The IASS 2023 is expected to draw over 600 participants, including 160 from start-ups, along with representatives from several start-up hubs/incubators, accelerators, and government officials.

-- BERNAMA