Aeternity Starfleet Program Propels Blockchain Adoption In India

AE Ventures, a blockchain investment company that launched the æternity Starfleet India program earlier last year, has registered over 170+ early-stage startups for the first edition of the æternity’s Global Starfleet Program in India. Over 50% of the registered startups are businesses with traction/users/revenue that are willing to implement blockchain for the very first time through æternity, leading to an acceleration in blockchain adoption amongst enterprises across sectors. Indian businesses are now increasingly open to exploring and implementing blockchain as a technology. With the business benefits of blockchain becoming evident to enterprises through strong used cases in the market, a sizable share of the businesses are increasingly implementing blockchain in their projects now.

While still, in its nascent stage, India’s blockchain market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 37% till 2024 according to a report by Invest India. Blockchain’s transformational potential in India has been recognized by enterprises across sectors in India. The Fintech sector recorded the most affinity to adopting blockchain used-case from the registered start-ups, comprising of over 14% of the registered start-ups, followed by the Healthcare sector with 13% and Agritech with 10% of the registered start-ups. Blockchain-based used cases in social media marketing, public sector, and renewable energy are also garnering considerable interest in the Starfleet India program.

The FinTech sector has seen the highest adoption, despite the cautious regulatory approach in India. A conducive regulatory and government procurement policy environment, will accelerate startup growth and drive blockchain implementation not only in the BFSI sector but across other sectors as well.

Nikola Stojanow, the CEO of AE Ventures said, “We are very excited to see this trend among companies that haven’t implemented blockchain, showing affinity towards exploring this technology when a strong used case is available. This is an example of the increased awareness that has helped the blockchain ecosystem and we are happy to be a part of the journey that busts any myths about blockchain and helps increase its adoption across India. We look forward to working with the new wave of startups selected for Starfleet India and are very excited to empower India’s blockchain ecosystem.”

As per reports from the Startup India initiative, the Indian startup ecosystem is the third-largest in terms of the number of tech startups following the US and China, and while the ecosystem is thriving, new players often find it difficult to access the correct channels due to a gap in the opportunities to network, receive mentorship and the right platforms to pilot their innovations. Aeternity Global Starfleet program, organized by AE Ventures in partnership with IBC Media - an innovation management company in Bangalore, aims to bridge this gap and provide relevant startups with the necessary impetus in the form of initial capital funding, along with six months of technology support, go-to-market strategy access and help with business development, marketing, and legal affairs.

Raghu Mohan, CEO, IBC Media added, “This change in trend is an example of a more favorable ecosystem in India for blockchain technology to thrive. We are happy to be a part of this changing mindset and truly believe that accelerator programs like Starfleet India are pivotal, in bringing blockchain to more businesses and in helping companies realize that, the capabilities to implement your tech are already available here. Hence, we do not need to make new ones.”