'Indian startups must boost corporate governance'

NEW DELHI: Indian startups must give priority to good governance and financial management and create new benchmarks not only for India but also for other G20 nations, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant has stressed.

Globally, startups have evolved into the catalyst for economic recovery, reorientation and growth driven by innovation.

At the sidelines of a think tank conference organised by Nishith Desai Associates and TiE Mumbai recently, Kant reiterated the importance of developing the corporate governance standards for India Inc to go global and establish norms for other G20 countries.

"It is important that these startup founders must adhere to best practices in corporate governance and financial management at the grassroots level and not consider these as an afterthought," said Kant.

For India to become a trillion-dollar economy, maturing of Indian startups is mandatory, he added.

The conference was attended by top venture capital funds and startups/unicorns such as UpGrad, MakeMyTrip, Paytm, Mobikwik, Purplle, Blume Ventures, and Avendus Capital, along with officials from NITI Aayog and Atal Innovation Mission.

"In recent years, Indian startups and new-age tech businesses are offering their products and services to a global audience. Therefore, every startup founder must promote a culture and high standards of corporate governance and set an example for others to emulate," said Nishith Desai, Founder, Nishith Desai Associates.

India is home to one out of 10 unicorns globally, and has the third largest ecosystem for start-ups globally.

"The country attracted over $250 billion in private alternative investments over the past 5 years, a vital source of our FDI. However, to continue to attract investment capital, it is important the ecosystem internalise that no amount of success compensates for governance failures," said Vivek Pandit, senior partner, McKinsey and Company.

Several institutional Investors have expressed concerns about the need for better corporate governance in India.

"Fortunately, Indian startups are changing in response to recent high-profile governance lapses with founders initiating changes including valuing independence on boards and putting in place new disclosure and whistle-blower policies," Pandit added.