Indian Startups Should Look for Multilateral Efforts

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
As the geopolitical changes continue to reshape markets, Indian startups should look to collaborate with startups in different countries to create multilateral products for global reach, said envoys from Europe and Canada during Huddle Global -2025 at Kovalam on Sunday.

Finland Consul General Erik AF Hallstrom, who is based in Mumbai, said his country has a lot of areas where Indian startups can explore, but the market is very small and establishing a base there is expensive, as wages and rates are very high. But there are a lot of companies that can collaborate with Indian startups and then look to tap the European market as a joint effort.

Dr Angela Honegger, CEO and Consul General at Swissnex in India, also agreed on that point and pointed out that Switzerland can offer a lot of technology and educational links for Indian aspirants as well. She pointed especially to the newly created quantum computing centre, where she said the only publicly owned supercomputer is made available for researchers. “It is not for the mass market, but it is a developing technology and Switzerland has a lot of interest in working with others on this.”

The envoy from Canada, whose country is having a turbulent time in its relationship with the United States, said they are looking forward to expanding their presence and visibility in India. Martin Barratt, the Canadian Consul General who is based in Bengaluru, said there is a large Indian diaspora in Canada, but mostly it is the Sikh community which is visible. “But there are a lot of people from other parts of India also, and Canada is trying to extract more from those connections.”

He said a large delegation of Canadians will be coming to India, to New Delhi, for the global AI summit coming up soon, and more cooperation and collaboration are expected after that. He said a large team of industry leaders is expected to be part of that delegation.

Austrian Trade Commissioner Hans Hoertnagl said his country is a gateway to Europe and can provide a lot of opportunity for Indian startups looking to tap that market. But he said startups trying to establish a base in Europe should learn the local culture and the way systems there work before starting operations, or else it becomes a problem.

National Associate Chair President of the Australia-India Business Council, Irfan Malik, moderated the panel discussion on Business Beyond Borders.