Transition towards Diversification: The Imperative of a Balanced Startup Ecosystem in Assam

Abstract

In India, Assam is the leader in the northeastern region’s startup ecosystem. According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), there are currently 1,487 startups in Assam, accounting for approximately 73% of all startups founded in the northeastern region. However, the growth of startups in Assam is uneven. It was found that most startups remain clustered in urban areas, particularly in districts like Kamrup Metropolitan, whereas rural and remote areas of the state see much less entrepreneurial activity. Existing studies show that regional, institutional, and socioeconomic factors strongly impact entrepreneurial activity and startup location. Areas with knowledge infrastructure, top educational institutions, and supportive business environments have more prevalent technology-based businesses that support entrepreneurial activity and vice versa. Thus, this study focuses on the uneven distribution of DPIIT-recognized startups across Assam’s districts. It also examines the concentration of startups, their stages of development, and the reasons behind the uneven growth across the state. This study is primarily based on secondary data collected from various sources, including DPIIT, Startup India reports, government policy documents, and other institutions. The results show that regions with strong educational institutions, adequate infrastructure, financial and digital access, market opportunities, and business support have more startups and greater entrepreneurial activity. However, economically or geographically disadvantaged regions fall behind due to a lack of support, infrastructure, and investment. Therefore, disparities in infrastructure, support systems, market opportunities, and institutional networks are closely tied to the uneven growth of startups in Assam. It is suggested that regions with lower levels of entrepreneurial activity require stronger institutional support, localized policies, and improved innovation infrastructure to ensure balanced and inclusive development in Assam. These steps are important for making startup growth more balanced and ensuring that it includes all regions of the state. In the future, new research can be designed to study the uneven distribution of startups within the same industrial sector or across different sectors using primary data. Similarly, the issue of limited scalability can be studied comparatively across industrial sectors to gain insights into this aspect.