India’s start-ups narrative was largely dictated by cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi. While these continue to be large start-up hubs, other cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Bhubaneswar are fast emerging as epicentres for new age entrepreneurs. Supported by a large talent pool, thrust given by the government, robust infrastructure, start-ups are rapidly embracing these smaller cities over the bigger metros.
Pune Start-Ups Landscape
From a few handful of start-ups in 2014, Pune has come a long way to cater to over 3,200 active start-ups in 2018. These encompass a broad spectrum of new age technologies cutting through several sectors such as financial services, agriculture, education, healthcare and life sciences, automobiles and manufacturing, etc.
In terms of investments, Pune’s start-ups ecosystem has received close to USD1 billion in funding between 2014 and 2018.With the start-ups ecosystem gaining some traction in the recent past. Furthermore, access to high quality institutions, growth in the number of co-working platforms, availability of high-skilled talent and liberal government policies have helped Pune create a robust start-up infrastructure.
Today, the start-up universe in Pune is a vibrant constellation of several 'new age' technology start-ups across sectors such as Fintech, Agritech, Autotech, Healthtech, etc. Further, the city also boasts of a number of start-ups that are focusing on disruptive technology such as blockchain, machine learning, artificial intelligence, robotics, etc.
However, challenges remain. For instance, despite some funds setting up base in Pune, the dependence on funding from venture capitalists and private equity firms outside the city continues to be significantly high. Further, limited international connectivity and the non-availability of an efficient rapid mass transit system poses considerable infrastructural bottlenecks.
It must be noted that in 2017, the chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis said “Pune will be the start-up capital of India within 2-3 years, a position currently held by Bangalore. Start-up companies will avail lakhs of job opportunities for the youth.”
Issues notwithstanding, the emerging business ecosystem complemented by the government’s focused approach has put Pune on the right path to witness a start-ups revolution.