Dubai Silicon Oasis and India Innovation Hub Partner with EaseMyTrip and HSBC to Support Tech-Startups

Partnership to foster innovation & facilitate investor connect programmes for 200 startups

Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) and India Innovation Hub have announced a partnership with EaseMyTrip and HSBC to facilitate 200 Indian startups to showcase their business ideas and innovations to global investors at Expo 2020 Dubai. 

In line with the Expo 2020 Dubai theme, ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and the “UAE Innovate 2022” running during February, the India Innovation Hub, as part of the India Pavilion, will act as a facilitator for these start-ups, providing them a global stage to interact with investors and global counterparts for networking and partnerships.

Focus areas to select startups will be Fintech, AI, Cybersecurity, Health and Tech-enabled platforms in key priority sectors.

The announcement was made, at the Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus, DSO’s wholly owned tech hub and coworking space, and the largest of its kind in the MENA region, in the presence of Dr Aman Puri, Consul General of India in Dubai and Deputy Commissioner-General for India at Expo 2020 Dubai, Ghanim Al Falasi, Senior Vice President, Technology and Entrepreneurship, Dtec, Nishant Pitti, Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip.com and Nabeel ALBLOUSHI, Managing Director, Regional Head MENA & Turkey, Markets and Securities Services, Corporate Sales – HSBC.

Dr Aman Puri said, “I am delighted to note that India Innovation Hub and Dubai Silicon Oasis are partnering with EaseMyTrip and HSBC to showcase Indian Innovation to the world at Expo 2020 Dubai. India Pavilion’s initiative India Innovation Hub has made a significant contribution to the Startup ecosystem by showcasing over 240 Startups at the Expo 2020 Dubai. With this joint initiative, some of India’s best Innovators and Startups will get an opportunity to engage with their counterparts and key stakeholders at DSO and Expo 2020 Dubai.”

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has recently declared January 16 as National Start-up Day and has called start-ups the backbone of new India.

For his part, Ghanim Al Falasi said: “Dubai Silicon Oasis offers world-class facilities to start-ups and entrepreneurs, streamlining their business set-up and operations. It is also home to more than 1,000 startups from more than 75 countries, providing a conducive business environment and collaboration platform for like-minded individuals. We look forward to playing a key role in paving the way for these 200 new Indian start-ups and facilitating their expansion into the region.”

Nishant Pitti said, “EaseMyTrip is a unicorn grown in India and now establishing its presence in the Middle East with EaseMyTrip.ae. Indian startups have a lot to add value to the ecosystem here. EaseMyTrip.com is profitable since its inception and completely bootstrapped till IPO. We are pleased to partner with HSBC, DSO & India Innovation Hub to bring more startups from India. I strongly believe that Indian startups can add a lot of value to the ecosystem in the UAE.”

India has emerged as an innovation hub with the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem with over 40 Indian start-ups joining the Unicorn Club in 2021.

Hitendra Dave, General Manager and CEO of HSBC, India said, “Tech & New Age Business segment commonly called ‘Startups’ is a key target segment for HSBC India. We have custom built products and solutions for startups across their growth cycle spectrum of early-stage, growth stage, to Unicorns and beyond. We already bank some of India’s best known, and up-and-coming startups, and we hope to partner more in the coming months and quarters.”

India Innovation Hub is a project of the India Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai wherein over 500 startups from India will be showcased. The project provides a platform to promote start-ups and Innovators of India, by providing them exposure to the global investors’ community through B2B events and activities like Elevate, pitching sessions.

The Indian start-up ecosystem today has over 60,000 DPIIT-registered start-ups from 628 districts across all 28 States and 8 Union Territories. India ranks in the top 50 countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII) and is the 5th most start-up friendly country in the world (leading in Asia). Embodying the true spirit of a self-reliant India, and despite the extreme challenges posed by the global pandemic, over 40 new unicorns came into existence in India, taking the total number of unicorns to 85. 

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