Indian Startups Face Their Biggest Challenge As 70% Of Them Have Less Than 3 Months Of Runway Cash

We live in the age of technology where the internet was able to bridge the gap between consumers and business.  This gave rise to new technologies which meant there was a lot of room for new businesses to pop up and that was what happened in the recent past.  Startups have been mushrooming rapidly to meet the demand in various sectors and it is safe to say that we live in the age of information technology and startups.  The startup ecosystem was a thriving sector until the whole world came to a standstill when the COVID-19 virus began spreading across the globe.  

Governments went into emergency mode and with no vaccine available and none in sight for the near future, governments declared strict lockdowns and curfews with the hope to stop the spread of the virus.  The Indian Government announced the first lockdown on March 24th and has since extended it till the end of June while easing some restrictions.  The first two months were the hardest and the economic impact was the hardest on travel, events, movies, sporting, rental and transportation industries.  As the lockdown is slowly easing the actual impact of the COVID-19 on startups is beginning to show.  The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) conducted a survey to study the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on Indian Startups.

The survey shows that

• 90% of startups registered a decline in revenues.
• 70% of these startups have less than 3 months of cash runaway.
• 30-40% of startups have suspended their operations.

The survey also showed that 70% of travel related startups have faced 40% decline in revenue, 50% of Fintech and logistics have seen a similar dip in revenues while 14% of edtech and health tech startups expect revenue growth amid COVID-19 crisis.  The survey also suggests that early and mid stage business are the most affected segments, especially in B2C (business to consumer) space.  It also found that around 60% of B2C startups were facing closure as revenues plummeted to near zero levels after businesses were forced to shut down for nearly 2 months, because of the lockdown.

The president of NASSCOM Debjani Ghosh said “However, it is not all doom and gloom; more than half of the start-ups are looking to pivot to new business opportunities, diversify into growth verticals like healthcare, and enhancing focus on emerging tech like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud (sic.)”  She also added, “to ensure that the Indian start-up movement and its growth trajectory is not derailed, coordinated support from key stakeholders is the need of the hour.  Some of our key recommendations to the government include access to working capital, easing compliances and fiscal policy and funding support (sic.)”

The Indian Government took note of the economic situation and has announced a whopping 20 lakh crore rupees as part of the AtmaNirbhar Bharat package which would be used to help various industries and sectors.  The Government also called for buying products which are made from locally sourced materials once again stressing on the need for ‘Make In India.’  This is a test for startups to prove their mettle and emerge stronger from this crisis.