“As a developing nation, India is currently dedicated to harnessing path-breaking innovations for comprehensive socio-economic growth. The ASEAN India partnership will enable concrete impact for this endeavor,” said Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar, Secretary, the Department of Science and Technology.
Dr. S Chandrasekhar made this remark while addressing the inaugural session of the 1st ASEAN-India Start-up Festival (AISF) in Bogor, Indonesia.
The Indonesia Research and Innovation Expo (INA-RIE) is jointly hosting the four-day event from 27th October to 30th October 2022. The festival has four main events startup exhibitions; seminars and talk shows; G2G meetings and B2B meetings, as well as startup pitch battles.
Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community, Satvinder Singh, highlighted that ASEAN has a vibrant and promising startup ecosystem.
“Despite the pandemic, last year we welcomed 25 new unicorns in ASEAN, with their combined valuation at USD 55.4 billion. The successful hosting of the 1st ASEAN-India Startup Festival saw opportunities to further strengthen ASEAN-India cooperation to accelerate the startup economy,” he added.
The AISF commemorates the 30th Anniversary of the ASEAN-India diplomatic relationship. It is also a part of the overall ASEAN-India Science, Technology, and Innovation Cooperation program between the ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation (COSTI) and the Department of Science and Technology (Govt of India).
The main of the festival is to provide a platform to further expand the national startup ecosystem to global networks, seeking cooperation for cumulative growth and creating of more opportunities. It has brought together government officials, startups, research institutes, universities, inventors and innovators, and other financial institutes.