About the Department
Invest India is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. It hosts teams working with various government initiatives such as Make in India, Startup India, AGNii, and PMG.
Position Overview: We are seeking experienced and dynamic leaders to lead Invest India’s startup and related investment initiatives aimed at fostering innovation, driving economic growth, and supporting entrepreneurship on both local and global scales. The ideal candidate will have to think beyond the usual and enable and guide the team to achieving new visions for such initiatives, a proven track record in startup ecosystem development, program management, and stakeholder engagement. As a key pivotal member of the team, you will play a leading role in shaping the future of investment initiatives, nurturing startups, and contributing to the overall economic advancement of the country.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a comprehensive strategic plan for the investment & incubation / acceleration for start-ups, aligned with the government's innovation and economic growth objectives. Work towards integrating corporate innovation in the overall startup ecosystem initiatives. Build and design a nationwide network of aligned incubators and accelerators to enable a globally high impact ecosystem. Define clear goals, KPIs, and milestones to measure the success and impact of the initiatives. Collaborate with relevant government agencies, industry partners, and relevant ecosystem stakeholders to align strategies and secure necessary resources. Interlink with the National priorities and policies. Nurture and retain finest human capital with equity, inclusion and diversity as core tenets.
- Build and scale sectoral startup ecosystems: Create, evolve and identify sectoral startup strategies aligned to National growth sectors. Build and scale startup ecosystems at a sectoral level to drive investments and innovation into priority sectors bringing the entire value chain for scale. The focused sectors for this role may be in the areas of but not limited to Healthcare, Pharma, Life sciences, Education, Insurance, Medical Devices, White Goods, Food Processing, Ports / Shipping / Waterways, Road Transport and Highways, Infrastructure, Marine, Climate / Sustainability and Defense. Identify the bottlenecks for global competitiveness and work towards collaboration with the ecosystem constituents both locally and globally to identify new business models and innovation. Build strategies to address India’s local and societal needs aligned with India’s national interests. Scale strategies to address India for India and for catering to world opportunities as well.
- Funding strategy: Build sectoral funds strategy to bring strategic acceleration of startups and drive innovations in the relevant sectors to succeed. As deep tech gains momentum to also build a Deep Tech Funding strategy leveraging all possible avenues to enable Indian innovations and startups to have the opportunity to access funds and resources as patient capital to innovative deep tech startups. To build the frameworks and methodology to build this fund and criteria and mechanisms for the disbursement of the same. Identify the metrics that would measure the impact of this fund in terms of innovation and adoption rather than revenue
- Program Development and Management: Design and oversee the incubation and investment programs, including mentorship, workshops, bootcamps, build funding opportunities, and networking events, aimed at nurturing startups' growth. Monitor and continuously refine program to ensure relevance and alignment with industry trends and emerging technologies.
- Global Ecosystem Connects: Develop and execute strategies to expand the influence and reach internationally, building partnerships and collaborations with other startup ecosystems, governments, academia, and international organizations. Lead efforts to attract international startups to the program, fostering cross-border collaboration and innovation. Build and enable Global support strategies for Indian startups. Increase trade opportunities between global ecosystems.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain strong relationships with government officials, industry leaders, venture capitalists, angel investors, and academia to foster a supportive ecosystem for startups.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Entrepreneurship, Economics, or related field (Master's preferred) with 20+ years of industry experience. Proven experience in startup ecosystem development, accelerator program management, with a strong network with the ecosystem and investors. Strong understanding of global startup trends, innovation ecosystems, and emerging technologies. Background in running corporate accelerators, incubators and a strong understanding of building ecosystems preferred.
- Exceptional leadership and communication skills, with the ability to engage with diverse stakeholders. Track record of successfully scaling initiatives and driving impactful results. Experience in navigating government processes and collaborating with public sector entities is a plus. Ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, adapt to changing priorities, and lead a cross-functional team.