First-ever SCO Startup Forum to be launched on 27th October

The first-ever SCO Startup Forum will be launched on 27th October 2020 ahead of the SCO trade ministers meeting on 28th October. The forum will lay the foundation for multilateral cooperation and engagement among the SCO Member States to develop and hone their startup ecosystems, collectively. 

Innovation and Startups will be the key focus area of SCO Heads of Government meeting on 30th November 2020 to be hosted by India. The Forum shall identify areas of cooperation by launching multiple entrepreneurial activities like startup showcases through a dedicated virtual platform, mobilizing capital for startups, sharing of best practices, procuring social innovations, multilateral incubator programs and knowledge exchange workshops etc. 

It will aid to understand the cultural and economic features of the startup ecosystem in the SCO Member States. In the run up to the launch of SCO Startup Forum, a virtual SCO preparatory Seminar and a workshop were also organized by India.Around 40 Indian Missions roped in to further augment Startup India



efforts.

India is currently the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world with over 35,000 startups, close to 25% of which are core technology startups operating in areas of AI, Robotics, Cloud Computing, IoT, Digital Health, Financial & Education Technology. The ‘Startup India’ has launched 10 bilateral bridges since its inception and has helped many technology-based startups to expand their businesses to global markets. Government has roped in around 40 Indian missions to further augment the efforts undertaken by the ‘Startup India’ program by exploiting the opportunities across the geographies.

As part of planned SCO ministerial meetings in the run up to SCO Heads of Government meeting, Ministers of Law and Justice of SCO member states have met on Friday where they acknowledged the need for cooperation in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. In the view of the coronavirus pandemic, they emphasized the high relevance of mutual exchange of legal information on counteraction to the spread of the pandemic.