US Startup SETU – Supporting Entrepreneurs in Transformation and Upskilling Program

US Startup SETU- Relevance for UPSC Exam

• GS Paper 2: International Relations- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

US Startup SETU in News

• Recently, the Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal launched the US Startup SETU – Supporting Entrepreneurs in Transformation and Upskilling programme in the Bay Area of San Francisco.
• The US Startup SETU programme was launched at a luncheon interaction focused on specific issues related to start-up ecosystem in India.

US Startup SETU

• About: The US Startup SETU initiative would connect start-ups in India to US-based investors and start-up ecosystem leaders with mentorship and assistance in various areas including funding, market access and commercialization.
• Mandate: SETU is designed to break the geographical barriers between mentors based in US that are willing to invest in entrepreneurship and sunrise startups in India.
• Need: It is estimated that about 90% of the start-ups and more than half of the well-funded startups fail in their early days.
  • Lack of experience in handling the business is a key issue, and founders require the right guidance for taking a decision and moral support.
• Implementation: The interaction will be supported through the mentorship portal under the Startup India initiative MAARG, or the Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth program.
• Significance: SETU programme will support entrepreneurs through transformation and upskilling initiatives.

MAARG Initiative

• About: MAARG Initiative is a single-stop solution finder for startups in India. MAARG is inviting applications from Mentors across the world.
• Mandate: The MAARG portal has been developed with the idea to be accessible from every corner of the country to connect with a mentor.
  • A mentor will offer human intelligence in guiding the startups.
• Performance: It may be noted that till date, more than 200 mentors have been successfully onboarded on MAARG across the globe.
  • The applications have come from distinguished individuals representing the industry and the startup ecosystem.
• Key Functions: The core functions of MAARG are-
  • To improve ease of access, use Artificial Intelligence for Matchmaking, schedule meetings virtually, host masterclasses, provide a custom dashboard for relevant information, analytics, features, etc.,
  • Host cohort-based programs that will allow start-up ecosystem enablers to be become a part of the program and enable outcome driven activities.

States’ Startup Ranking 2021- Key Findings

States’ Startup Ranking 2021- Key Findings

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