DIPP to launch Linkedin-like platform named Virtual Startup Hub

A year after launching the Startup India campaign, the virtual platform to connect all stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem will be launched in April. The Virtual Startup Hub will be a Linkedin-like platform allowing interactions between investors, mentors, incubators and the like.

Based on factors such as operational sector and area, the Virtual Startup Hub will intelligently connect startups with investors and incubators in the vicinity. Another feature that will be added will show relevant government schemes and incentive programs that the startup is eligible for.

The initiative by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is being developed by Invest India and is expected to go live in the first week of April.

DIPP is encouraging all participants in the startup ecosystem to sign up and create profiles. After a certain number of profiles are created, the existing Startup India Hub website will be pulled down and the upgraded version will be integrated on the Startup India website and app.

While the Startup India Hub already has an existing database of investors, incubators, mentors, etc., the upgraded version will be more interactive. Shailendra Singh, joint secretary at DIPP, told Mint, “We are collating all this information and making an intelligent system. So if a start-up wants to interact with a mentor, it will be able to do through the hub- it will be able to send and receive messages, and even fix appointments.”

In addition to being a business networking platform, the Virtual Startup Hub will also contain learning and development modules wherein a step-by-step guide explaining how to incorporate a company will be integrated, along with explainers on pitching to investors and templates for term sheets among other useful documents for startups.




The Hub aims to encourage collaboration among various stakeholders of the startup ecosystem where a free flow of ideas, knowledge exchange and easier access to resources is enabled. It will also be integrated with outside systems and websites which may include Digital India initiative, eminent Mentor and Investor networks, Incubator application management systems, etc.