Press Release | ADIF aims to transform the Indian startup ecosystem to be among the top 3 globally by the year 2030

At its core, ADIF wants to build an alliance of individuals and organisations, all of whom are driven towards making India the best startup nation globally

New Delhi, 21 July 2021: ADIF (Alliance of Digital India Foundation), a think tank for India’s digital startups, today shared its plans to meet its objective of the long-term prosperity of the Indian startup ecosystem. While India is the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world, it ranks only 20th in the global start-up ranking. ADIF aims to transform the Indian startup ecosystem into the top 3 globally by 2030. In the process, ADIF will also be evangelising the Indus Valley playbook as an alternative ideology to the Silicon Valley playbook.

At its core, ADIF wants to build an alliance of individuals and organisations, all of whom are driven towards making India the best startup nation globally. We aim to achieve this goal through championing the sector, celebrating our wealth creators, increasing trust within the players, evangelising the Indus Valley playbook, facilitating market development, driving collaboration in the ecosystem and representing the voice of the startup sector with the government and industry forums.

Speaking on the mission and vision of the foundation, Mr. Sijo, Executive Director – Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) said, “There are over 50 unicorns in India today – a number that was unimaginable 10 years ago. We are currently the third-largest ecosystem in the world, and with that, we have truly arrived on the global stage. Now that we are here, we have a genuine opportunity at pursuing the journey of being the best in the world. Our mission is to transform the Indian startup ecosystem to be among the top 3 globally by the year 2030.”

He also added, “Traditionally, we have had access to Silicon Valley literature, but the way Indian founders have driven their startups has been based on a very different playbook – this literature is more suited to the Indian or any emerging startup ecosystem. We as a country have created a lot of knowledge among ourselves on how to look at an alternate model of entrepreneurship and wealth creation. At ADIF, we will compile this knowledge, take it to our young entrepreneurs and help fuel the next wave of entrepreneurs. Furthermore, our ecosystem is still very nascent, so it’s understandable that the policies haven’t fully caught up. ADIF will thus also focus on advocating for favourable policies, figuring out solutions that are in the best interest of everyone and driving them.”

ADIF plans to adopt a three-pronged approach to transform the Indian startup ecosystem: Building an Alliance of Founders and Startups, Club ADIF and Policy Lab. These three pillars will form the backbone of ADIF’s mission to forge a joint roadmap for a strong vibrant Digital India. As part of the alliance, ADIF will bring together all individuals and organisations that are vested in the success and growth of India’s startup ecosystem.

Club ADIF is a collaborative trust layer that enables sharing of knowledge and best practices at an informal peer to peer level. Policy Lab is to ideate and advocate for favourable policies for the sector and to ensure their adequate representation in front of the government and industry bodies.

A Section 8 non-profit organisation, ADIF was founded by the likes of Sairee Chahal of Sheroes, Murugavel Janakiraman of Matrimony.com and Ritesh Malik of Innov8. ADIF is committed to inspiring India’s youth to consider technology entrepreneurship to create jobs and wealth in our society, thereby promoting entrepreneurship across the nation.

About Alliance of Digital India Foundation

The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) is a think tank for India’s digital start-ups formed to fully capitalise on the sector’s promise with the objective of its long-term prosperity in mind. ADIF's mission is to transform the Indian startup ecosystem into among the best in the world while upholding the essence of the Indian startup playbook or the Indus Valley Playbook and ensuring that it emerges as a strong alternative to the dominant Silicon Valley Playbook.