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