Amitabh Kant to release book on Indian Start-up Ecosystem co-edited by IIMK faculty
Kozhikode: CEO NITI Aayog Mr Amitabh Kant will be releasing book titled, ‘Shifting Orbits: Decoding the Trajectory of the Indian Start-up Ecosystem’, co-edited by Professor Joffi Thomas of IIM Kozhikode on July 23, 2021. The virtual book launch being organized by the Innovation Venturing and Entrepreneurship in India Network (iVEIN)- a consortium of leading IIMs and IITs – of which IIM Kozhikode is a founding member, will begin with an overview of iVEIN and background to the book.
‘Shifting Orbits’ chronicles the spectacular rise of the start-up landscape in India in four different sections: innovation, incubation, funding and industry perspectives. The book release will be followed by the keynote address by Mr Amitabh Kant, after which there will be a presentation on the key insights. The event also includes a panel discussion on, ‘The evolving start-up landscape’, between the NITI Aayog CEO and Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder, Infosys. Prof. Joffi has co-edited the book with three other faculty members – Prof. Srivardhini K Jha (IIM Bangalore), Prof. Rohan Chinchwadkar (IIT Bombay) and Prof. Thillai Rajan (IIT Madras). The book has forewords from Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group and Prof. K. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India.
The book launch event is scheduled for 1800 Hrs IST on July 23 and participants can register for the same using this link: https://iim-b.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IApOJHbDS9-fgBcQpZQJLw
IIM Kozhikode’s business incubator Laboratory for Innovation, Venturing and Entrepreneurship (LIVE) has been nurturing talent in the startup ecosystem and has made rapid strides since its inception as a center of entrepreneurship development at IIMK from 2016. As the Institute celebrates its Silver Jubilee this year, LIVE also recently completed 5 successful years. Director IIMK Prof. Debashis Chatterjee is also the Chairman of IIMK LIVE Society and the Board, and Prof. Rajesh S. Upadhyayula, the Executive Director of LIVE. The center has supported 75+ innovative startups with mentorship, professional services and seed funds through its business incubation program and innovation fellowships. The center was awarded Kerala’s most inclusive incubator last year and helped the Institute feature in ARIIA Ranking 2020 as the first IIM in this innovation achievement rankings, which is generally dominated by the technology institutes.
About the book ‘Shifting Orbits’: India is one of the largest start-up and innovation hubs in the world, and the Indian start-up ecosystem has become an important contributor in the nation’s journey to become a $5 trillion economy. The first section of the book dives deep into understanding how India is faring on innovation-led entrepreneurship and delineates the challenges to be overcome. The next section explains how incubators provide a nurturing environment for start-ups so that they can survive and flourish as viable businesses. For start-ups to be able to grow and create an impact, funding is critical – the third section examines the current funding scenario and lists the policy changes essential for its growth. It also highlights the impact made by venture funded companies in the economy. The section on industry perspectives takes an analytical, practice-centred view of the growth of the Indian innovation ecosystem. Taken together, the book provides a comprehensive narrative on innovation and venturing in India and gives valuable insights on current trends and practices as well as the challenges and course corrections needed for the future.
About iVEIN: iVEIN is a consortium of leading IIMs and IITs that aims to nurture the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem through academic research and thought leadership. It seeks to bring insights and evidence from academic research to support policy making as well as increase the effectiveness of managerial and investment decision making in entrepreneurship. This cross-institutional network can be the glue that bridges the different stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and more importantly, create rigorous and relevant new knowledge that is crucial to sustain an innovative ecosystem.
Motivation for the Book: The entrepreneurial paradigm in India has witnessed multiple shifts over time. The current policy imperative has been to support the start-up and venturing route for entrepreneurship. Buoyed by the initial successes in the IT and software industry and a supportive policy framework, the Indian start-up ecosystem has grown considerably. The need for a well-documented and researched text that has tracked the growth of the Indian start-up ecosystem has been acutely felt in recent times. The book bridges that need.