Deloitte's Morning Pitch programme has hit the ground running in India
Global professional services firm Deloitte has hosted the fourth edition of its ‘Morning Pitch’ initiative in India, which saw four Indian startups present their business models with funding and partnership hopes. The four firms that featured at the event are Scribble Data, Ayasta, Minance and InTain.
India has been described by several analysts as a potential global hub for startups, given its substantial tech environment and potentially massive market. International investors are setting up portfolios in the market, while some have gone so far as to say that India might challenge Silicon Valley as the next tech startup centre.
Big Four accounting and advisory firm Deloitte has been quick in its efforts to capitalise on this scenario, through the launch of its India Catalyst programme. The initiative was launched in 2016, and is currently supporting more than 200 startups in the Indian market with accelerating their business development.
Specifically, the programme supports entrepreneurs in 11 innovative domains, including those operating in Future of Work, Future of Cities and Future of Mobility. The firm is also tracking more than 50,000 firms in the country to identify potential investment opportunities, in addition to other efforts to promote the startup culture.
One such effort is its weekly Morning Pitch segment, which is rapidly spreading to its markets across the globe. The initiative was first launched in Japan, and allows promising startups to present their business models to investors from a number of public and private agencies.
“In Tokyo, every Thursday morning 200 Corporate Managers, Venture Capitalists, and Government Officials start their day by exploring opportunities to work with Startups through Morning Pitch. The platform has in fact resulted in 15+ IPOs and 200+ business alliances in Japan,” explain two executives from Deloitte Japan.
Morning Pitch has now been launched in India, and the event’s fourth edition took place at the end of February. Four startups – Scribble Data, Ayasta, Minance and InTain – that are active in artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning and personal wealth management (Minance) presented their ideas at the event.
“We are happy to see the success of the Morning Pitch platform in India and will now scale it up for wider coverage. Making Indian startups successful is the focus of our Deloitte India Catalyst program and the Morning Pitch platform is a great enabler,” said Debabrat Mishra, Partner and Lead of Innovation & Alliances at Deloitte Consulting India.
