Watch: Early-stage Indian startups get international investor exposure with Elevate III

Dubai: As many as 10 Indian startups made their pitch to top investors from the UAE and around the world in Dubai on Sunday at the Elevate III platform, and startups that make the cut will now be put in touch with the investors to take the funding process forward.

A total of 18 startups participated in the Elevate III pitching session, organised by the Indian pavilion at Expo 2020 and the Consulate General of India.

Elevate started as a platform to showcase 500 startups from India over the course of five months at the Innovation Hub outside the Indian pavilion. The plan was to showcase two startups each every day to give them the exposure they needed at the growth stage. As the startup interaction surged, the idea for connecting them to B2B investors evolved. Following this, pitching sessions were organised, where the Innovation Hub connected startups with potential investors, giving rise to the first Elevate session.

Elevate I saw 10 startups from across sectors from Karnataka and Kerala pitching their ideas to over 15 investors, while Elevate II was a Telangana-focused startup event.

The next elevate session will be held on December 7 for India-based unicorns to discuss how technology is driving the innovative startup ecosystem.

“During the course of the six months, we want to make sure that we showcase the best of 500 over 500 startups and add value to their initiative,” said an official. “It could be through showcasing them and giving them exposure at the bus. It could be pitching sessions, or it could be any sort of other B2B events.”

So far, six Indian startups have progressed towards possible investment opportunities:

“It is an opportunity for them [startups] to articulate their vision. I think the whole thing for us when we look as an investor is money, but I want to see somebody articulating their vision and how passionate they are, how are they what did they plan to do,” said Eugene Mayne, CEO at Dubai-based Tristar Group, which handles the logistics needs for the energy industry.

He said: “On one side, we had people looking to make investments and on the other hand to set people trying to tell us their story. And for me, the idea of being here was to be able to assess firsthand how passionate to that person because that’s the ultimate goal of succeeding between success and failure.”

“They don’t need to wait 30 or 40 years to keep the success that they have all the ingredients in place. They’ve got some financial investors. They’ve got a good story and they’ve also got people who can mentor them.”