Powering the Start-Up Ecosystem – How the East is crafting its own growth story

The spotlight turned on India’s burgeoning start-up sector in a riveting panel discussion on ‘Powering Start-Up Ecosystem - The East Side Story’ at the second edition of Adgully’s CMOs’ Charcha - Kolkata Chapter 2024, which was held on June 14. The panel was chaired by Debarshi Chakravorti, VP - Business Communication & Planning, Interactive Avenues, and the panellists included:

Dhriti Chatterjee, Founder & Director, DcVision VR

Ramasish Bhowmik, Partner, Ovenly Baked

Saurav Kothari, Co-Founder, Kisah

Sujata Chatterjee, Founder & MD, Twirl.store

Commencing the discussions, Debarshi Chakravorti remarked, “Bengal is a very strong primary hub of the eastern region, with around 7.65% GDP, which is much more than a national average of 7.32%. And Bengal and the East in general contribute the 6th largest GDP in terms of economy for the country. It is said that the eastern region currently contributes to about 1.35% of the total start-ups that are there in the country.” He went on to ask the panellists whether they saw East market’s share rising to 10% in the times to come.

Saurav Kothari replied by saying, “The start-up ecosystem in Kolkata and in the east is very aggressively growing. And more than a challenge, it’s an opportunity, since it is not a very mature market. But there are a lot of enablers that are coming in – both locally and nationally, which actually enable the start-up ecosystem to grow.”

Dhriti Chatterjee added here, “I completely agree with Sourav on that. I would also say that this is an opportunity over challenge. Opportunities are more in the Eastern market right now, the market is wide open, people are respecting and recognizing start-ups. In the near future, if we create the right ecosystem, then the start-ups will be much more benefited in different ways.”

Pointing out Kolkata’s open market and opportunities available in the current market, Ramasish Bhowmik emphasized, “Five to six years back, people preferred Mumbai or Delhi when it came to jobs because there was not much opportunity in the East. We could not even imagine having a start-up in Kolkata even 5-6 back. But now the systems and processes have changed by a huge margin and things are definitely going to change more in the times to come.”

Speaking about the prejudice about the Eastern market, Sujata Chatterjee remarked, “It is also a bit about perception. We tend to have this perception that maybe Kolkata or East India do not have enough start-ups. The story can always be told in terms of numbers. Sometimes it is quality over quantity.” She added, “Kolkata has always produced great businesses, great companies – whether you call them start-ups or great organizations – and it continues to do so. So, I see a very positive market. So, whether it contributes to 1% or 6%, those are just numbers.”

These are edited excerpts. For the complete discussion, please watch below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1o6L6NINbs