India and Germany are both home to vibrant startup ecosystems and can substantially benefit by cooperating more closely with each other. On February 23, the official launch of the German-Indian Startup Exchange Program (GINSEP) took place in Delhi. The initiative's objective is to promote structured networking between Indian and German startups.
As a strategic partner, the Bertelsmann Stiftung launched the event together with the Federal Association of German Startups. Liz Mohn, vice-chairwoman of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Executive Board, and Dirk Wiese, parliamentary state secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, opened the event, which was attended by over 100 international guests from the political and business spheres.
GINSEP is organized by the German Startups Association and receives support from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The Startups Association, a neutral platform, hopes that GINSEP will strengthen interactions between the startup ecosystems in the two countries. One of GINSEP’s key objectives is to promote structured networking between Indian and German startups. The pilot phase is being implemented from September 2017 to August 2019. Through GINSEP, the Startups Association aims to facilitate access for Indian and German startups and investors to markets and networks in the other country’s ecosystem.
Various events will be offered under GINSEP such as expert workshops on internationalization and on the bureaucratic and legal requirements in the target country. The workshops will be conducted by the Startups Association in close cooperation with numerous GINSEP ambassadors, both in India and in Germany.
I welcome this initiative, which brings together startup pioneers, investors and companies from India and Germany. I hope we can deepen this exchange in the future, thereby ensuring its ongoing success.
The Bertelsmann Stiftung played a major role in the development of the GINSEP initiative. The foundation brings together relevant players from the startup ecosystems in both countries by hosting the Berlin-Bangalore Round Table. The various events in this series focus on startups with a social impact.