The Indian startup scene has actually gone from strength to strength and is now a thriving ecosystem that is solving many critical problems and improving our lives and economical status along with it. When a startup begins its journey, one of the key things that it needs is the support and guidance of an entity that has seen it all and knows the ecosystem very well. And if that support comes from a bank that is willing to support you, that is the icing on the cake. This is exactly what Axis bank is doing.
Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank is launching an exclusive networking property, Axis Start-up Social, at a ‘one-of-its-kind’ event aimed at supporting the country’s startup ecosystem. ‘Axis Start -Up Social’ went live on December 15th, 2017 at a gathering of the country’s leading startup players in Bengaluru.
The objective of this platform is to provide an opportunity for startups to network and share knowledge. Significantly, this initiative firmly underlines the Bank’s unflinching commitment towards providing multiple opportunities for startups in India to thrive and scale to the next-level-of-growth. The unveiling of ‘Axis Start-up Social’ comes close on the heels of the launch of the bank’s innovation lab, Thought Factory, which looks to aid startups to expand, besides opening up avenues with potential investors and companies. The Bank also launched its Axis Startup Banking product earlier this year, which is bundled with all key technology enabled products and caters comprehensively to banking needs of startups. Over 100 leading names among the start-up community are expected to converge at the launch.
India continues to be a hotbed for startups especially with the Government’s relentless focus to provide a congenial environment for them to conduct business. As per a recent Nasscom Startup Report, the year has seen an addition of over 1,000 startups bolstering India’s position as one of the leading startup ecosystems across the world. This takes the total number of technology startups in the country to over 5,000, as per the Report. Importantly, while Technology continues to dominate conversations, startups in other sectors such as Healthcare, and Education and Logistics have also gathered pace.
Speaking about the initiative, Sidharth Rath, Group Executive, Corporate & Transaction Banking, Axis Bank said, “We are excited to launch Axis Start-up Social, a platform through which we hope to provide the much required, ‘extra edge’ to the start-up community by handholding them, sharing knowledge and providing the required financial solutions. Today, the Indian ecosystem is flooded with innovative ideas but what is missing is the presence of the right channel and guidance in terms of acceleration, scaling up and funding. Through Axis Start-up Social, we endeavour to create an ecosystem to encourage innovation and the next-level-of-growth opportunities to start-ups that are ready to take that leap.”
We had the opportunity to attend the first Axis Startup Social Gathering that was held at Wework Galaxy in Bangalore. The whole forum was abuzz with thoughts and ideas. There were young and experienced startups all present there and some thought leaders presented their knowledge and learning through their startup journey.
From the response and engagement that we got to see at the venue for the first edition, this is a great and informal forum where the focus is on sharing collective knowledge for everyone’s benefit. We are very eager to see further editions of this happen and take active part in it.