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The event theme was "Advancing Digital Innovation for Global Economies," with a particular focus on the role of startups in driving digital innovation. Six startups from different sectors were invited from each country, G20 member countries, and guest countries. Invited startups gathered under the G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (DIA) to participate in the event. This year, the G20 event was held in Bangalore, India, at Bangalore Palace from August 17th to 19th.
We, as Techsign, participated in this event as one of the six startups invited by the Ministry of Industry and Technology. Startups were chosen from various sectors to represent their country, so we don't hesitate to define ourselves as Turkey's top startup in the cybersecurity field.
Let's talk about the host city. The selection of Bangalore as host of the Digital Innovation Alliance (DIA) is not a coincidence. Bangalore is known as "India's Silicon Valley" and is considered the hub of information technology. It's the country's export center for the IT sector and the birthplace of many Indian unicorns. Additionally, it's one of India's most cosmopolitan, green, and vibrant cities.
The G20 event had multiple layers. While technology and industry ministers discussed international collaborations, startups attended inspiring seminars. In these seminars, Indian unicorns shared their experiences. India ranks second behind the United States with 108 unicorns. So, these seminars were priceless. These seminars garnered significant interest not only from startups but also from young Indians. We learned that entrepreneurship is currently the most popular profession among high school and university students, but a decade ago, the dream job of young people was being a Bollywood actor.
The second day of the event started with speeches from invited ministers. Deepak Balgobin, Minister of Information Technology, Communication, and Innovation of Mauritius, and Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology of Turkey made speeches about their country's startup ecosystem. Both ministers invited technology startups to come to their countries. They promised initiatives to create a suitable ecosystem for startups. Increasing the number of startups will undoubtedly fuel competition but, a healthy ecosystem that allows all startups to grow together will benefit everyone.
We were thrilled about connecting with a Mauritian fintech startup during the event, so these invitations made us very happy. We are eager to do business in Mauritius, which is the first stop for fintechs wanting to enter the African market.
Undoubtedly, one of the most exciting moments for startups during the event was the deck presentations.
In a total of six different sectors, representatives from 35 countries introduced their companies to the jury with 4-minute presentations. Techsign participated in the Secure Digital Infrastructure segment. Unfortunately, we didn't win an award, but we're proud of our colleagues' success. Uppy, representing education technologies, won 2nd place, and Nivogo, in the circular economy field, was awarded 3rd place, both of which made us proud.
The program also featured a special award for women entrepreneurs. However, these awards turned into an encouragement for rare female entrepreneurs rather than a competition among them. Because the number of women entrepreneurs was limited to one or two in each sector. The disadvantaged situation of women was mentioned several times during the presentations. It's worth noting that the Indian government is making significant efforts in this regard. Seeing many women occupying important positions is heartening. Nevertheless, the number of women at the event was much lower compared to men. The absence of women among the unicorn entrepreneurs, the presence of only one woman in the six-member jury, having only one female minister among the attending ministers, and even the visitors being nearly 80% male.
To support women's presence in the startup ecosystems nationally and internationally measurements should be taken seriously.
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India is strong in software and also very supportive of an entrepreneurial culture. Honestly, due to strong competition, we hadn't previously seen India as a potential market. However, through the people we met and the connections we made, we realized that various collaborations are possible. We were particularly excited about meeting startups from both India and other countries. We're looking forward to the collaborations that will emerge from this event!
