Number of recognized startups FY 2016-2022

In the year 2022, over 26 thousand startups were recognized by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). India’s startup economy has been growing since 2016 with businesses mushrooming rapidly across the country. To support and sustain its growth, the Indian government launched the Startup India initiative. As of February 2023, a total of 92,683 startups had been officially recognized by DPIIT.

Business environment and unicorns in India

India’s economy comprises of a vast number of businesses that are predominantly micro enterprises, with more than half of them based in rural areas. While the number of startup investment deals remained more or less stable between 2017 and 2020, startup funding saw a depreciation in value due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, regained momentum in 2021. Owing to a host of funding deals and investment schemes, startups in India have spread across several key sectors primarily those of technology and ecommerce.

Leading startup sectors and unicorns

Meanwhile, the fields that held the lion’s share of the overall number of startups in the country in 2022 were fintech, e-commerce and enterprisetech. India also had the second highest number of unicorns in the Asia Pacific region with a market valuation of just under 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2021.