Celebrating the start-up spring

The Indian Embassy organised an event and an interaction session under the banner ‘Startup India and Bahrain’ at the Embassy Complex in Seef. The event was held to welcome an Indian delegation of 24 startup co-founders, who are on a visit to the Kingdom to attend the ‘Startup Bahrain Week’. ‘Startup Bahrain Week’, is being organised by the Economic Development Board (EDB), and it aims to bring together some of the brightest entrepreneurial minds. Speaking to Tribune, Indian Ambassador Alok Kumar Sinha, said, “India has actively pursued development of the start-up ecosystem in the country and now has the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world. Great strides have also been made by the Kingdom in recent years to develop the start-up ecosystem.

Start-ups have emerged as an important area with immense opportunities for greater collaboration between India and Bahrain.” “The Indian delegation, which briefed the audience about their start-ups, which ranged from healthcare, cybersecurity, fintech to travel and data management, provided an opportunity to connect with stakeholders in the start-up business arena and opened new avenues for India and Bahrain to collaborate in the area of start-ups.”  “The two countries have a long-standing history, relationship and collaboration in diverse fields. For the past three years, the start-up culture between the two countries has really expanded not only in terms of creating a conducive ecosystem but also towards adding considerable employment for the people.

“Most importantly, startups have become a force to develop the innovation and technology sector in both countries.” Many memorandum of understanding and joint ventures have been signed by startups from India and the Kingdom. The event was attended by EDB officials, professionals from various sectors such as banking, agriculture, food industry and fintech apart from senior government officials and prominent businessmen.