startup investment: Investing in Web3 talent & startups to be in focus in 2023: Algorand India

New Delhi: The Algorand Foundation, the non-profit organisation behind the Algorand Blockchain and its native token Algorand (ALGO), has a couple of major plans for India, said its India’ chief Anil Kakani.

Kakani was appointed to head the country operations in November this year and said that the foundation has a couple of big plans for India including growing the Web3 community and investment in the ecosystem.

He said that growth of the web3 development community through investment in training programmes to build a talent pool and pouring in money in the company building real world solutions on Algorand blockchain will be the focus.

“Our mantra is ‘In Bharat for Bharat’ – while of course we expect these companies to serve global markets, we are truly committed to supporting founders who are building solutions to enhance financial services, health care, education, agriculture, access to markets and access to finance in way that moves us toward a more inclusive economy in India” he added.

According to various reports, India is emerging as one of the fastest growing web3 nations in the world, hosting about 500 startups in the ecosystems, trying to harness the potential of the technology.

The Algorand blockchain, which powers the Algorand ecosystem, a carbon-negative Layer 1 blockchain invented by MIT professor Silvio Micali, works on the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism and went live in 2019.

Kakani said that the foundation is excited and proud as India is presiding over the G20 summit this year. He said that the world will realize the true power of blockchain in achieving important policy objectives in the coming year.
Regulation is important for the industry, where risk and investment are involved. “Important steps shall be taken to manage risk while allowing the technology to achieve its true potential in our efforts for greater financial inclusion,” he said.

Kakani is already familiar to many in traditional finance and the Indian technology sector. He held several public and private sector roles, including as a senior advisor for India at the US Treasury, where he established the first bilateral partnership between the US Treasury and India’s Finance Ministry.

The Foundation chief said that 2023 and 2024 might be a game changing year for Web3, especially for AlgoBharat work in India. “We started our work a few months ago and are already seeing innovative projects popping up all over.”

Last month, the foundation took nine companies from India to Decipher, its annual gathering of key players in the Algorand ecosystem, held in Dubai.

There are many use cases building on Algorand and soon to deliver significant value to hard-working middle class families across India.

“We are working with a SMB lending platform, a digital remittance and payment company, a platform for Bollywood screenwriters, a blockchain solution for farmers bringing their produce to the market, and a digital health care platform,” he said.

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