Two UK businesses have joined forces to launch India’s first national crowdfunding conference in March 2015.
Cambridge based social enterprise Two Corners and The Crowdfunding Centre in Sheffield have secured key partnerships with TiE Hyderabad and NASSCOM’s 10K Stratup Project to export the highly successful Deep Impact conference to India on March 21 2015.
The UK collaboration has attracted an elite profile of speakers active in both crowdfunding and innovation. The conference will bring together Indian and international experts to discuss the future of alternate finance and explore the potential of crowdfunding in India.
TiE Hyderabad President Safir Adeni said “Crowdfunding is a fantastic approach for Indian startups. It is a truly democratic platform for raising capital.”
Preeti Gaikwad, Founder of Two Corners said, “It’s an absolute delight to be able to contribute to the rise of Crowdfunding in India. Raising the profile of Crowdfunding will help empower generations of entrepreneurs – something that we are passionate about.”
She further added, “This conference will enable the participants to not only discuss the phenomenal rise of Crowdfunding and its implications for startups, but also encourage frugal innovation. My personal focus is to encourage innovation & entrepreneurship through crowdfunding at colleges and universities in India.”
The conference is powered by Startup Hyderabad and will feature founders of the existing crowdfunding platforms in India.
Heading the 10000 startups project at NASSCOM, Sr. Director Rajat Tandon commented “Crowdfunding does power business growth and is a strong economic generator for start-ups and SMEs who need capital and investors to fuel innovation, create jobs and compete on the global stage.”
Frugal Innovation expert and co-author of Jugaad, Prof. Jaideep Prabhu, University of Cambridge commended the initiative and said “We increasingly live in a frugal economy where even small teams can now develop and commercialize ideas that only large firms could do in the past.
Crowdfunding is a crucial component of this frugal economy. Now start-ups with relatively few resources can access small amounts from large numbers of ordinary people to bring their ideas to life and to markets.”
Barry James, Founder of TheCrowdfundingCentre.com and the UK’s Crowdfunding: Deep Impact conferences commented “We launched the UK’s first national conference three years ago because we foresaw the tidal-wave that is now happening. Crowdfunding will revolutionise and democratise not just funding but the way the world economy works, putting entrepreneurs at the forefront, people at the centre and unleashing innovation as never before. We’ve seen massive growth since, but this is just the beginning and I look forward to being part of this revolution, with you, as it makes an equally deep impact on India, its entrepreneurs and economy, empowering and enabling people to create their own jobs and businesses and to take control of their own future.”
Twintangibles Director Tim Wright, who is an author and crowdfunding expert said “Crowdfunding is the most important change in the way we finance innovation and business in generations. Founded in the empowerment brought about by digital connectivity it is tearing down the barriers to becoming innovators, investors and entrepreneurs and already bringing billions in new and connected money into the economy.
It is changing the way we think and act both individually and collectively and it is transforming our notion of what is possible. To see this development now taking hold in such a rich, vibrant and ambitious country like India is tremendously exciting and has extraordinary potential.”
The Crowdfunding:Deep Impact conference will not only facilitate a constructive interaction by the movers and shakers of the industry but also help engage with government and regulators in supporting its adoption and growth.
Contacts
Two Corners: Preeti Gaikwad: preetig@twocorners.org
