The global Web3 boom is expected to add $1.1 trillion to the Indian economy over the next decade, supporting the investment-based momentum driven by over 450 in-house startups, including CoinDCX, Polygon and CoinSwitch.
A recent study from the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), an Indian non-governmental trade association and advocacy group, highlighted India’s position as a leading global player in the Web3 market owing to several factors spanning a large talent pool, high adoption rate and product development for international markets.
Snapshot of India’s Web3 startup ecosystem in 2022. Source: NASSCOMThe US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) estimated that “Web3 can add $1.1 trillion of new economic value to the Indian GDP in the next 10 years.”
Investments in Indian Web3 startups. Source: USISPF and NASSCOMMoreover, the study highlighted that investments in Indian Web3 startups mimicked crypto adoption by racking up a 37x growth over the last two years. The explosive Web3 growth in the country is further supported by an increasing talent pool, which makes India’s demand-supply gap the lowest when compared to the USA, China and UK.
In addition, India ranks first when it comes to reskilling in newer technologies, which is considered paramount in emerging technologies such as Web3 and blockchain.
Global Web3 talent distribution. Source: OKX and NASSCOMThe above graphic shows the global talent pool for Web3, showcasing the US and China overpowering India. However, the study estimates that India’s Web3 talent pool is expected to experience the fastest growth rate in the coming 1-2 years.
Focus areas for Indian Web3 startups. Source: Zinnov CoNXT Research & AnalysisThe Indian Web3 ecosystem caters to a variety of real-world applications and roughly 60% of the local startups expanded their footprint outside India.
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Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart recently launched a metaverse space — named Flipverse — for locals to try out and purchase merchandise from brands including Puma and Nivea.
Flipverse was developed in collaboration with Polygon-incubated organization eDAO and will support digital collectibles and be made available on Flipkart’s newly online shopping platform, FireDrops.