As many as 30 leading Indian startups joined the Startup Policy Forum (SPF), an alliance launched to advance India’s new-age economy, on December 5, 2024. The SPF alliance aims to foster constructive collaboration between founders, policymakers and regulators. The forum will engage in cutting-edge public policy advocacy tailored to the needs of India’s new-age companies.

"SPF will bolster the government’s initiatives to position Indian startups on a global platform and bring together a thriving community of entrepreneurs building high-growth companies," a statement says.

The forum is founded by Shweta Rajpal Kohli, a public policy and media veteran with over 25 years of experience in leading teams at prominent venture capital, technology and media firms, including Peak XV Partners, Sequoia Capital India, Salesforce and Uber.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal says startups are driving transformative change by democratising business and converting job seekers into job creators. "We are glad to see many founders joining the Startup Policy Forum (SPF), which should reinforce India’s global leadership in the new-age economy. The forum should play a pivotal role in India’s journey to become Viksit Bharat by 2047 under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

India has become one of the most attractive global hubs for innovation, thanks to the government’s steadfast focus on catalysing the startup ecosystem and the macroeconomic stability provided by the regulators, says Kohli, president and CEO of SPF.

The forum will limit its members to 100 select startups in its initial phase, says the statement. Over 30 rapidly growing startups have already signed up as members, highlighting the strong need for such an alliance. These include companies like Razorpay, CRED and Pine Labs, Groww, Acko, OYO, Swiggy, Practo, Dream11 and MPL, Cars24 and Cardekho, CureFoods, Livspace, Ixigo, Ultrahuman, Digantara, AI video platform Invideo, Jupiter, One Card, Mobikwik, Yubi, Progcap, Bluestone, among others.

To drive sector-specific initiatives and policy expertise, SPF has established four specialised councils: the Fintech Policy Council (FPC), Consumer and Commerce Council (CACC), Emerging Tech & AI Council (ETAC), and New-Age Public Companies Council (NPCC). These will focus on critical areas within the startup ecosystem, collaborating closely with relevant regulators and stakeholders to address unique challenges and opportunities in each sector.

SPF also comprises experts in public policy, legal affairs, taxation, policy research, communications and marketing. Soon, it aims to form an advisory board and a mentor board, comprising global thought leaders and ecosystem enablers who will guide its initiatives. "These boards will play a pivotal role in shaping SPF’s efforts to position and scale Indian startups on the global stage."

Notably, India boasts the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem and is home to over 100 unicorns. Several government initiatives, including Startup India, Digital India and the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) have laid a strong foundation for startups to innovate and flourish.