Abundant talent and competitive operational costs continue to give Bengal an edge as a destination for start-up founders. But despite these inherent strengths, a series of structural gaps — both on the entrepreneurial and investor fronts — are slowing the growth of the state’s startup ecosystem.
These gaps and opportunities occupied centre stage at the Startup Forum held at Infocom 2025 on Friday. Industry experts, founders and investors at the event underscored that while Bengal has the ingredients to nurture high-potential ventures, the ecosystem needs sharper direction.
The absence of a robust network of incubators, inadequate mentorship, low engagement from family offices and venture capital funds, and the inability of founders to articulate compelling business stories or scale-up plans emerged as recurring pain points.
Gaurav Kapoor, chief business officer at the IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) — a not-for-profit entity fostering entrepreneurship — was candid in his assessment.
“Even though we have some amazing companies emerging from here and the East, as an ecosystem, we aren’t very developed. The perception among investors is that this region does not produce enough valuable start-ups. There aren’t enough incubators and mentorship programmes. From the startup side also, entrepreneurs don’t always have a very good understanding of skilled business modelling, about investor expectations and about processes. So there are gaps here from both sides,” Kapoor said.
He, however, acknowledged improvements. Investor perceptions have started shifting over the last three to four years, aided by the efforts of incubators and accelerators such as IIMCIP that are driving mentorship, training and early-stage funding support. However, a more coordinated action is necessary to build momentum and attract serious capital.
For Agni Mitra, founder of Amwoodo—a Calcutta-based start-up offering sustainable bamboo-based solutions, the city has a compelling value proposition. “The talent pool here is a major advantage compared with cities like Delhi or Bengaluru. The cost structure — whether land or labour — is more affordable, which helps entrepreneurs experiment and scale sustainably,” Mitra said.
Yet, he also highlighted a stark challenge: the absence of a mature venture capital ecosystem and the conservative investment stance of family offices in the region. While national and global investors increasingly look for strong corporate governance standards, start-ups are often unprepared.
“From day one, our fundamentals were right. One thing I learned from Nitin (Kamath) is that corporate governance must be clear. AGMs, board meetings, compliance, financial transparency — these matter,” he added.
Investors perspective
Liquidity concerns remain a key sticking point for investors. Parthiv Neotia, joint managing director of the Neotia group, noted the difficulty angel investors face in securing exits.
“It is hard to get exits because most institutional capital flows into primary funding. Whatever secondary sales take place are at heavy discounts. Without liquidity every five to six years, it’s difficult for early investors to stay committed,” he told The Telegraph.
But attitudes are shifting, especially generationally, and younger family office managers are more inclined towards early-stage ventures, unlike their predecessors.
“We look at the merit of the business. It is location agnostic. If there is a good business case, investors will back irrespective of where it is based,” Mayank Jalan, chairman of Keventer Group and an investor in start-ups, noted. However, industry observers also pointed out ecosystem plays a role sometimes. Statistically, companies operating in some location tend to get a better offer from others.
“While some family offices remain conservative, a growing number are becoming more dynamic and seeking options beyond traditional financial instruments. However, family offices based out of other metros or cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune generally exhibit a higher risk appetite. They are notably more open to investment opportunities in start-ups and early-stage companies,” said Anindya Paulchaudhuri, group CEO of Wealthapp.