The EU-India Innocenter held its first in-person event in Bangalore: The Blue Carpet Night – Showcasing European Innovation.
The event was opened virtually by the Ambassador of the European Union to India, H.E. Ugo Astuto and had also the speech of Pierrick Fillon-Ashide, Directorate General for Research & Innovational Corporation Affairs – ASEAN & India
The Blue Carpet night was attended by more than 100 guests including corporations, investors, mentors, Indian and European ecosystem builders and government representatives from India and many European countries including Netherlands, Denmark, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain and Austria.
As part of the the EU-India Innocenter programme, the event facilitates a strategic networking platform for participants to converge with players and industries in the Indian ecosystem to showcase their products, technologies and plans to scale in the local market.
After the startups’ pitch, the programme leader Juliane Frömmter hosted Starlene Sharma – Founding Partner of Green Artha to talk about The role of International Innovation in India’s Innovation Ecosystem and the night continued with an open space for networking in a relaxed glamorous environment with nice food and drinks.
The 10 innovative European startups that took part in the event are Cast AI, Loop, QANplatform, TokenMe, Cheesecake Energy, AgeVolt, Volektra, Echion Technologies, EnvoPAP, and Proglove. They showcased cutting-edge technologies to the audience with supportive statements on how they can spur India’s growth in specific sectors.
The Blue Carpet Night was embedded into a week-long visit to India with intense and exclusive activities tailored to each company, including an interaction at the Bengaluru Tech Summit – Asia’s Largest Tech Summit, under the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) to showcase how European technologies can help harness the full potential of the mission.
This group of Emerging Tech and Sustainability Tech startups received a very warm reception and plentiful interest from local corporations and the ecosystem at large. Most startups have entered into discussions targeted to establish pilots and proof of concepts in India and are expected to accelerate in the Indian market in the next 6-18 months.
EU-India Innocenter’s Programme Head, Juliane Frömmter, who is recognised as 40 under 40 Europe India Leader by EICI said, “India is the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world which hosts more than 100 unicorns, offering unique advantages and opportunities. Recognising the potential of the Indian market, the startups in our programme come with a focus on sustainability-tech, deep-tech, logistics, mobility, life-sciences, agri-tech, etc., who can transfer high-end technology and position the EU as a leader investing highly in R&D. The combination of European R&D with India’s thriving innovation ecosystem will automate, digitise, and decarbonise the Indian economy and help European startups establish their footprint in one of the biggest markets in the world. We had a great trip to India and made valuable in-person matchmaking sessions with potential clients to foster strategic partnerships between India and Europe.”
These were amazing and very productive days that left everyone very excited about the opportunities ahead for both the Indian and European ecosystems!
Since the EU-India Innocenter’s onset in 2021, the project has screened over 400 European startups based on their stage of development, annual recurring value, growth rate and defensible IP in India. The shortlisted startups have a strong potential and commitment to grow in the Indian market. So far, the programme has matched 40+ European Scaleups with 280+ Indian companies and India based MNCs.
Applications are open for 2023!
The programme enables European startups to explore the Indian market, validate their offering, and learn about sector-specific opportunities and regulations while collaborating with Indian stakeholders. Funded by the European Union, the project can guarantee the participation of European companies free of costs, and no equities involved, until the end of 2023.
Who are we looking for?
Startups, Scale Ups and SMEs that:
- Have a legal entity based in Europe/EU Associate Member States
- Are relevant to our focus sectors
- Has an unique proposition or strong advantage against existing competitors in India
- Has defensible IP in India
- Current Annual Recurring Revenue EUR 700K – 1M or more
- Growth Rate 20-30% YoY
- Global Addressable Market > USD 1B
- Potential for India to become a key revenue-generating market
- Committed, technically prepared and globally competitive founding team
Ready to start your journey? Click here and let us lead you!
