I just got back from my first visit to India, where we set up offices earlier this year. I went to Mumbai and Delhi, and my first thought was: WOW!
The raw entrepreneurial energy hits you right between the eyes: whether it’s the venture-backed tech scene or the pani puri sellers in the street, it’s all systems go.
It’s crowded, busy, noisy and, wherever you look, there’s a sense that anything is possible.
Vibrancy & scale
Mumbai is the country’s throbbing heartbeat on the ocean, with vibrancy and scale everywhere you look.
We met one prospective client who said he’d travelled there from Pune, about three hours away. I asked how big Pune was – “Oh, about 5 million people”. That’s bigger than anywhere in the UK apart from London, and I’d barely heard of it.
Delhi has an old-world charm and is much greener than I imagined, with tree-lined streets, wide boulevards and parks – although it can still suffer from severe bouts of smog.
Opportunities in cleantech … and ecommerce
The pollution issues mean there’s a clear need for cleantech companies to bring their expertise and help develop waste-to-value models for the country – a priority for Delhi and many other mega cities across the nation.
I had my first rickshaw ride, which was a total adrenaline rush. You start off thinking you’re going to die as your driver vies with swerving mopeds, market carts and articulated lorries, before relaxing into it and succumbing to the lull of weaving traffic and tooting horns.
And the rickshaws have moved firmly into the 21st century, with payments now increasingly made through India’s Universal Payment Interface – a system that enables users to transfer funds instantly between bank accounts using a mobile app and QR code.
In fact, this system has fuelled a huge ecommerce market in India, which is now worth around $300 billion. And there’s almost nothing you can’t do with your phone. One app, Blinkit, promises to deliver anything to your door within seven minutes. Another allows you to call a hairdresser to your home!
Global expansion
Indian tech firms are increasingly looking to expand globally. While traditionally the US and the UK would be first on their radar for language and funding reasons, many are now looking east to the likes of Japan and Korea, where they see huge opportunities, particularly for deeptech solutions in the battery, robotics, automotive and hydrogen sectors.
Equally, international companies are eyeing up the Indian market in a new light. Not only is its population of 1.4 billion gaining an increasing disposable income, the nation is sprouting industrial conglomerates and mega brands following in the footsteps of those in Japan, Korea and China.
These are the companies you’d do well to target if you’re developing innovative enabling technologies. You may know of Reliance and Tata today, but get ready to start hearing about the Bajaj, Godrej, Hinduja and Mahindra Groups!
Relationship-driven markets
English is the lingua franca of India, so in some ways it was easy for me to get around. But that can be deceptive as it’s tricky to navigate what’s essentially a relationship-driven market, stitched together from a complex patchwork of sub-cultures.
In fact, it’s not one market at all. The nation comprises 28 states and eight union territories, from Karnataka in the South, right up to Punjab in the North and West Bengal in the East, each with its own trends, needs and opportunities.
However you look at it, India unquestionably has the WOW Factor. And it’s super exciting to be working alongside our stellar India team.
For an informal discussion about how we could help develop your business in India, contact Alex at alex.gover@intralinkgroup.com.
