India Mobile Congress or IMC as usual continues to offer a platform to the entire digital landscape and its associates to showcase the ‘now and next’ of technology in India. With the rising stature of India across global technology map, we are also now getting to see technologies that are being made out of India for the world.
I have been a regular visitor of IMC and year after year I see its credibility and magnitude on an upward trend. It’s not only now India’s leading digital sector show but has risen among some of the best in the region.
Broadly, if I sum up what I got to glimpse across the various booth setups by different technology creators and curators, it was all about AI, IoT, Enterprise Tech, Auto Tech and of course Satellite Tech. 5G again was an overarching theme, but since it has been there for few years, so won’t say it was something new. But yes, the level of maturity of 5G technology was visible. We are all geared up for taking 5G to the masses and make it the default cellular technology in the country.
However, what made me delighted was to see the Aspire section of IMC, which showcased startups from across the country. In all there were over 900 startups who exhibited their ideas and implementations across 5G, AI, Deep Tech, Green Tech and Smart Mobility. As per the official note of IMC, 500 investor meetings were facilitated along with 100+ mentoring sessions.
Aspire zone was like a nursery of startups where entrepreneurs with zeal and excitement were putting forward their ideas, imagination and implementation before the world. While the theme of IMC this year was ‘The Future is Now’, looking at these startups, one could also absorb that the future is aspiring!
Our journey in the digital world has been inspiring, but growth is a never-ending journey. We cannot be just celebrating the achievements so far and stop here. There has to be enough of fuel for future and for that we need to have a healthy funnel. Visiting these startups at aspire zone made me feel that many of these startups, primarily promoted by very young professionals, aren’t even aware what they are up to. It is obvious that many of these start-ups might drop during the journey, some might pivot from their present idea; but the heartening thing to see is that most promising startups will see growth, will get funded, will be supported by the ecosystem and eventually grow big. Some of these will also go for an IPO.
This is one of the healthy signs to see the ‘startup culture’ that has been nurtured at policy as well as execution level over the past decade has started to bear fruits. The funnel is fattening, and we have a promising flow of startups coming in the emerging areas of AI, Deep Tech and others.
Complements to the IMC, its promoters and organisers who curated all the wonderful technology from the global and Indian ecosystem, besides giving an opportunity to startups to showcase and giving all of us a view of this nursery of startups that will shape the future of India!
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