The G20’s Startup20 Engagement Group will hold its inception meeting in Hyderabad this week. The meeting will feature delegates from member nations and nine special invitees from observer countries, representatives from multilateral organisations as well as the Indian startup ecosystem.

The meeting, scheduled to be held on 28-29 January, is expected to create a global narrative for supporting startups and fostering synergies between startups, corporates, investors, innovation agencies, and other key ecosystem stakeholders.

Startup20 India Chair Chintan Vaishnav stated that as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, India is well-positioned to lead the charge in supporting innovative startups, particularly in the sectors of global importance.

The Startup20 Engagement Group will work to harmonise the global startup ecosystem through consensus-based definitions and promote a global community of knowledge sharing among startup ecosystems to explore opportunities.

“The group will also bridge the knowledge gap between the startup ecosystems of G20 member countries and emerging economies through partnerships with enablers such as incubators and government agencies,” he said.

 “Additionally, we aim to create supportive policies for industry players and government organizations to work with startups, Chintan asserted.

The Startup20 has three main task forces; the Foundation and Alliances Taskforce, Finance, and Inclusion and Sustainability.

The Foundation and Alliances Taskforce will work to harmonise the global Startup ecosystem through consensus-based definitions and promote a global community of knowledge sharing among the Startup ecosystems to explore opportunities. It will also bridge the knowledge gap between the Startup ecosystems of G20 member countries and emerging economies through partnerships to enable more industry players across G20 nations to work with Startups and concrete solutions. Finally, it will aim to create supportive policies for industry players and government organizations to work with Startups and provide points of contact for the participating G20 countries’ sustained collaboration.

The Finance Taskforce will aim to increase access to capital for Startups by providing financing and investment platforms specifically for early-stage Startups to broaden the array of financial instruments available to Startups. It will also create pitching and networking opportunities for Startups with the global investor community.

It will also work to provide a framework built upon best practices for global investors to fund Startups across G20 member nations, helping build suggestive frameworks that could be implemented in emerging ecosystems for building investment capabilities.