Friday (September 27): Social media giant Facebook is gearing up to make substantial investments in technology startups, a top company official said here on Friday.
The move would give a tremendous boost to the startup ecosystem in India.
“We now have shown willingness to make direct investments in technology startups in India,” Facebook India Vice-President and Managing Director Ajit Mohan said.
“We are willing to spend our time, and energy to tap the massive depth of engineering talent in the country,” he added.
He was addressing the opening session of the second edition of Huddle Kerala 2019, one of Asias largest congregations on startup ecosystem.
The two-day event is being organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in association with Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
“A couple of months ago, we announced the first minority investment that Facebook has done anywhere in the world in a company called Meesho,” Mohan said in his keynote address.
The best thing about their model was it could bring 2,00,000 first-time female entrepreneurs online, he noted.
Citing the government data, he said womens representation in the technology sector stood between 30 per cent and 35 per cent.
Anil Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), who was the chief guest, said other states should replicate the Kerala model in building the startup ecosystem.
Referring to the ubiquitous startup milieu in the country, he said nearly two startups were getting registered every hour in the country.
The event, which hosts an array of technology experts and marketing leaders, will offer a unique platform for startups to showcase their products before technology and industry leaders from around the world.
