Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Startup Forum

About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Startup Forum

• It is a platform for the stakeholders from the startup ecosystems from all SCO Member States to interact and collaborate.
• It aims to create multilateral cooperation and engagement for startups among the SCO Member States. This engagement will empower the local startup ecosystems in the SCO Member States.
• The following are the objectives of the engagement:
  • Sharing of best practices to promote entrepreneurship and innovation to build knowledge-exchange systems.
  • Bringing Corporates and Investors across to work closely with startups and provide local entrepreneurs with much-needed support and market access.
  • Increasing scaling opportunities for startups by providing solutions in the field of social innovation and provide the Governments with a plethora of innovative solutions
  • Facilitating cross-border incubation and acceleration programs that will enable the startups to explore international markets and get focused mentorship.
• India will host the second meeting of the Special Working Group for Startups and Innovation (SWG) in November 2024 and SCO Startup Forum 5.0 in January 2025.
• Previously, Startup India had organized various initiatives for SCO Member states including:
  • SCO Startup Forum 1.0: The SCO Startup Forum in 2020 laid the foundation for multilateral cooperation and engagement for startups among the SCO Member States.
  • SCO Startup Forum 2.0: The two-day Forum was held virtually in 2021 through a customized platform representing the Indian culture in augmented reality. SCO Startup Hub, a single point of contact for the SCO startup ecosystem, was launched in this forum.
  • SCO Startup Forum 3.0: DPIIT organised the first ever physical SCO Startup Forum in 2023 for the SCO Member States. 
  • 1st Meeting of the SWG: The first Meeting of the SCO Special Working Group on Startups and Innovation (SWG), permanently chaired by India, was organised on the theme ‘Growing from Roots’ in 2023.

Q1) What is the Startup India Initiative?

It is a flagship initiative of the Government of India intended to catalyse start up culture with the objective of supporting entrepreneurs, building a robust startup ecosystem and transforming India into a country of job creators instead of job seekers.

Source: 4th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Startup Forum organized in New Delhi