State: Gujarat
Language: Gujarati, English, Hindi
Population: 55,70,000 (2011)
Weather: Hot, semi-arid, and little rain
Food: Dal Dhokli, Khandvi
Places to Visit: Sabarmati Ashram, Kankaria Lake, Jama Masjid, Bhadra Fort, Adalaj Stepwell
Industry Specialization: Automobile, textile, pharmaceutical, dairy

Ahmedabad is one of the fastest-growing cities in India and is a centre for technology, education, and industries. A city earlier known for its delicious food and colourful culture is now slowly becoming to be recognized as a city with a small but well-connected ecosystem. The ecosystem is mainly known for the collective efforts of all players in creating a self-sustainable ecosystem.

What stands out in the ecosystem is a practice among players to partner for various occasions so as to put collective efforts in bringing out the best of the events. The opportunities that the Government of Gujarat has provided to Ahmedabad as an ecosystem developer is one of the privileges that no other city enjoys.

Ahmedabad, The Ecosystem

Over the past few years, India has seen a new startup hub in Ahmedabad. Initially known for being an education hub, the city is now home to many innovative startups. The ecosystem has a few stakeholders making it like a close-knit family. Startups like Beardo, LendingKart, Iba Halal Care, Menstrupedia, and All Events have all left a massive mark in the startup ecosystem of the country.  

Read more about Ahmedabad as a new emerging startup hub: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/ahmedabad-leads-in-emerging-startup-hubs/articleshow/73052984.cms

The city has grabbed 43% share of funded startups in emerging hubs in the country, according to a report by NASSCOM and Zinnov. Not only that but, Lendingkart and Infibeam have also been identified as soon-to-be unicorns. Companies in Ahmedabad have witnessed stellar investments! PetPooja (USD $2Mn), Iba Halal Care (USD $3Mn), Invixium (USD $4Mn), Axio (USD $7.4Mn), LendingKart (USD $161.4Mn), are a few examples of in-house startups that have done wonders with their rounds of funding. 

Funding, Incubators/Accelerators, and Stakeholders

Ahmedabad, like most emerging startup hubs, lacks proper funding facilities, which means that most funding that does take place for in-house startups is from out-of-city/state firms. But that does not mean there aren’t any. The city has a few angel investors and some great VC firms- including Infuse Ventures, GAIN, and GVFL Limited!

Read more about incubators, accelerators and startups in and around Ahmedabad: https://inc42.com/startups/gujarat-startup-ecosystem/

Headstart Ahmedabad, a stakeholder of the Ahmedabad ecosystem, nurtures budding and existing entrepreneurs through events and workshops throughout the year. In 2019, Headstart Ahmedabad impacted close to 660 entrepreneurs, existing and otherwise, by conducting 11 editions of their flagship event, Startup Saturday. An amazing platform for networking, motivation, and knowledge- they’re trying to strengthen the community of entrepreneurs in the city.

Incubators and Accelerators contribute greatly to the development of the ecosystem in Ahmedabad. There are a lot of academic and governmental incubators in the city. The NIDHI-SSS, CIE.CO @ IIM-Ahmedabad, and GUSEC, are very well known for the kind of facilities and support that they provide to their incubatees.

Government

The credit for this immense growth of the ecosystem can be given to the state’s government. They passed the official IT and Electronics Policy brought in in 2016, which will be updated in 2021. On the same lines, the Gujarat government has provided financial assistance of over USD $3.2 Mn to 175+ startups in the span of 2016-2018. AND, the state implemented the first-ever Student Startup and Innovation Policy in 2017- to promote young innovators from the state.

Read more about the various initiatives that drive the Ahmadabad ecosystem: https://inc42.com/features/gujarats-startup-friendly-after-effect-ahmedabad-rises-as-a-startup-hub/

Conclusion

The Ahmedabad ecosystem has evolved in a way that today, there is a massive presence of the youth creating a difference in the market. There is not only an increase in the number of student startups but colleges have also developed their own incubators to help their students for starting up.

While the ecosystem is doing perfectly okay, the lack of knowledge for startups in the ideation stage is a matter of concern. As a solution, Ahmedabad plans to organize more domain-centric events that will not only focus on the general business topics but will also help the startups in one to one mentorship programs. Apart from this workable challenge, Ahmedabad has turned out to have one of the most motivated and determined startups ecosystems.

Meet Plutomen Technologies and Reelo, two startups that embody the vibrancy of the Ahmedabad ecosystem here!

Contributed by:

Anoushka Chopra & Sanskriti Bhatnagar
Headstart Network Foundation