Book contents
- Unicorns from Emerging Economies
- Unicorns from Emerging Economies
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Vignettes
- Contributors
- 1 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems from Emerging Markets and Their Unicorns: An Overview
- 2 Unicorns from Emerging Economies: A Framework for Analysing Their Genesis and Nature
- 3 Unicorns: From Silicon Valley to a Global Phenomenon?
- 4 Finding the Unicorns: A National Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Approach
- 5 Where Unicorns Are Born: Innovation Hubs in China
- 6 A Supply–Demand Model of Indian Start-Ups and Unicorns
- 7 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Unicorns in Southeast Asia
- 8 Latin American Unicorn Firms: Transcending Entrepreneurial Hubs
- 9 Can the MENA Region Build Its Indigenous Start-Up Unicorns? Analysis of Unicorns and Soonicorns and the Supporting Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
- 10 Nurturing Unicorns and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Africa: Harnessing Policy Innovation for Digital Transformation
- 11 China Private Sector Innovators: Established Disruptors and New Challengers
- 12 Brazilian Unicorns and Their Triggers of Scalability
- 13 A Unicorn under Sanctions: The Case of Yandex
- 14 What Lies Ahead for Unicorns from Emerging Economies
- Glossary
- Index
- References
6 - A Supply–Demand Model of Indian Start-Ups and Unicorns
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 December 2025
Book contents
- Unicorns from Emerging Economies
- Unicorns from Emerging Economies
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Vignettes
- Contributors
- 1 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems from Emerging Markets and Their Unicorns: An Overview
- 2 Unicorns from Emerging Economies: A Framework for Analysing Their Genesis and Nature
- 3 Unicorns: From Silicon Valley to a Global Phenomenon?
- 4 Finding the Unicorns: A National Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Approach
- 5 Where Unicorns Are Born: Innovation Hubs in China
- 6 A Supply–Demand Model of Indian Start-Ups and Unicorns
- 7 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Unicorns in Southeast Asia
- 8 Latin American Unicorn Firms: Transcending Entrepreneurial Hubs
- 9 Can the MENA Region Build Its Indigenous Start-Up Unicorns? Analysis of Unicorns and Soonicorns and the Supporting Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
- 10 Nurturing Unicorns and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Africa: Harnessing Policy Innovation for Digital Transformation
- 11 China Private Sector Innovators: Established Disruptors and New Challengers
- 12 Brazilian Unicorns and Their Triggers of Scalability
- 13 A Unicorn under Sanctions: The Case of Yandex
- 14 What Lies Ahead for Unicorns from Emerging Economies
- Glossary
- Index
- References
Summary
Despite its status as a low-income country, India has produced the third highest number of unicorns in the 2010s. We offer a supply–demand model of start-ups to explain this surprising outcome. On the demand side, India’s large and fast-growing market, coupled with ‘leapfrogging advantages’, have encouraged start-ups in many digital businesses. On the supply side, India’s abundant and affordable technical talent, nurtured by the country’s IT/software companies and the R&D centres of foreign multinationals, have combined with a surge in angel investors, incubators, accelerators and local and foreign venture capitalists. Government policies have reinforced both demand-side and supply-side factors, as have global developments such as the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions involving China. Although the climate for start-ups deteriorated in 2022–2024 in India (as it did worldwide), the fundamentals are strong for India to continue to be an important source of digital start-ups and unicorns.
Keywords
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Unicorns from Emerging EconomiesCreating Value through Technology and Innovation, pp. 151 - 171Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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