India: The Land of Unicorns
Indian start-ups are ecstatic about the news that India will have 100 unicorns by 2022. The event sparked a rush of interest among investors who wanted to open the doors to start-ups that would fit into their portfolios.
The Growth Story
The country that has witnessed the creation of 42 unicorns in last year, it is three times jump from 11 unicorns in 2020. It is interesting to note that the country has produced 37 unicorns in a decade. The is quite an achievement for the country that have gained that status as being the 4th largest country in the no of unicorns across the world.
There are 1,979 unicorns in the world, including 1,036 in the United States alone, 252 in China, and 100 in the United Kingdom.
The pandemic’s onslaught has accelerated the adoption of the internet and digital across a wide range of industries, including e-commerce, education, payments, and retail. Customers have embraced technology with open arms, making life easier for them.
Fintech and E-commerce account for 50% of these start-ups, while Health Tech, Media Tech, Food Tech, and Edtech account for 35%.
With a valuation of $22 billion, the e-learning platform Byju’s is now India’s most valuable unicorn. It ascended to the top when One97 Communications, the company behind Paytm, went public last year.
Fast Forward Journey towards Unicorn Status
We have example from companies like Mensa Brands, launched by ex Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan which acquires Direct-to-Consumer fashion, home and personal care labels and acquired the unicorn status in just six months. The brand is focused on tech companies operating in beauty, personal care and fashion. The model is based on the Thrasio-style model which has evolved from the acquisition of online brands and scaling them where as there is another Chennai based NBFC company that has acquired the status after 37 years
Fintech is the front runner as the biggest contributor of unicorns in the country. The presence of Slice, Zeta, BharatPe, Mobikwik, Groww, CRED and Slice, the seven players lead the brandwagon from Fintech.
Whereas Byju’s, the leader in Edtech space has acquired the decacorn status with the valuation of $18 valuation. The three companies that joins the status of unicorn in Edtech are Vedantu, upGrad and Eruditus.
What make the companies unique is their thought process to adapt with the changing behaviours of Indian customers and make their offering as per the requirement of customers. The companies has started to focus on the focus of the market and customers. The investors has reposed their faith on the companies who are obsessed with the market and customers need and as a result these companies are able to raise funds from not only from Indian investors but marquee investors across the globe.
These firms has embraced new-age technology such as artificial intelligence, iOT, data analytics, big data, robots, and others to bridge wide-ranging gaps in the market. They also took advantage of consumer / customer desire for digital, which helped them speed their expansion.
