What comes to your mind when I say Kolkata? Howrah Bridge? Widespread Hoogly River? Monuments and tourist attractions? Food and heritage? And then what more? The thought of Kolkata as one of the important commercial or business hubs will not strike our minds until and unless we elaborately talk about the startups in eastern India. Why is that so? Because we all have grown up hearing stories of Bangalore as a startup hub and Delhi and Mumbai as busy commercial market spaces but not about Kolkata much.
Though the ‘City of Joy’ does not rank first in the top startup hubs in India, Kolkata is the major startup hub in eastern India. The city has much to say about its businesses, startups, and financial space and just does not want to brag always about its food, culture, heritage, and tourist spots. The government is also supportive and taking initiatives for the startups to flourish in the city. The accelerated startup ecosystem has been gearing up the speed of growth and sustainability with government support, passionate entrepreneurs, and mentorship programs.
We are bound to talk about the startups in Kolkata as it is not often spoken about. To drive your attention, here we have mentioned the top 10 successful startups in Kolkata to understand that Kolkata, the City of Joy, is more than what people think.
Top 10 successful startups in Kolkata:
- Taxmantra
- Wow! Momo
- Mihup Communications
- iKure Techsoft
- Sweethandi
- Mindhour
- Fusion Chart
- Sasta Sundar
- Truck Hall
- Zeronify
Taxmantra:
Taxmantra Global is a consultancy firm that helps customers with legal affairs. This fintech startup deals with fundraising, legal services, foreign tax, and legal compliance. It helps and provides guidance to Non-Residental Indians (NRIs) with their tax and legal affairs. The company was founded by Alok Patnia in 2010, and now the company is present in the United States and Singapore.
Wow! Momo:
Wow! Momo is a fast-food chain that deals with food and beverages, food delivery, and food processing. As the name says, the startup is known for its Nepali/Tibetian food, momos. The startup has 200 restaurants across 13 cities in India with a 2,558 worldwide ranking. Wow! Momo was founded by Sagar Daryani, Binod Kumar Homagai, and Shah Miftaur Rahman in 2008.
Mihup Communication:
Mihup Communication is artificial intelligence (AI)-based personal mobile assistance app that creates customized voice interfaces for enterprise developers to help them have their brand identity and privacy. The startup was started by Biplab Chakraborty in 2016 and had a total funding amount of USD 8.2 million.
iKure Techsoft:
iKure Techsoft is a Kolkata-based social enterprise that was founded in 2009 by Sujay Santra. The startup is a major health tech company that works on making healthcare accessible and affordable to people from all walks of life, especially in rural India. The company has rural health clinics that provide healthcare facilities to 3.5 million people.
Sweethandi:
Sweethandi is an e-commerce business that delivers sweets to customers from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Kolkata is the city for delicacies, sweets, and food, especially Sandesh and Rasgulla. Customers can place orders online in Sweethandi, they can even customize them according to their geographical location and get them delivered. The startup was launched in 2015 by Abhirup Banerjee.
Mindhour:
Mindhour is an Edu-tech startup that helps students in spaces like logical reasoning and aptitude. The startup has an application and a website for enrolled students with interactive courses and a uniquely formulated curriculum. The startup also focuses on students in rural areas to avoid being left out. The company was founded by Sumit Marda and Varun Choudhary in 2014.
FusionChart:
FusionChart is a company that makes coding easy and helps in understanding data. The company works with a motto called “by developers, for developers”, which helps and assists developers in creating visually appealing and user-friendly dashboards, and also helps in effective communication of data between companies. The startup was founded by Pallav Nadhani in 2003.
Sasta Sundar:
Sasta Sundar is a health tech company founded by B.L. Mittal and Ravi Kant Sharma. The startup is an online pharmacy that was launched in 2013. This Kolkata-based company provides medicines, health care, beauty products, ayurvedic and herbal medicines, and orthopedic, and surgical care units for various ailments customers. Sasta Sundar also offers a knowledge-based web portal for customers to get information on various medicines and also about their medication.
TruckHall:
TruckHall is a Kolkata-based startup that deals with the Road Transportation and Logistics industry. The company was founded by Anup Agarwal, Manish Sharaf, Ankit Dudhwewala, and Varun Biyani in 2015. Since the people in the Road Transportation and Logistics industry like truckers, agents, investors, etc., face several problems, to eradicate corruption and other problems faced by the people in the field, TruckHall was established.
Zeronify:
Zeronify is an Edu Tech startup that offers students to connect with their peers to prepare for exams like NEET, CA, MBA exams, JEE, GATE, CAT, etc. The company has ties with qualified teachers across India and encourages peer-to-peer learning. Zeronify was established in 2015 by Rohit Bajaj, Abhishek Bajaj, Gaurav Agarwal, and Aditya Bajaj.
Conclusion – Kolkata as a startup hub:
So further if you have any doubts about Kolkata being a developing startup hub in India, we would like to substantiate with some data and statistics too.
According to AngelList, there are over 250 plus startups in Kolkata. The city ranks 214 globally for its startup ecosystem and ranks 9 in India as well as South Asia.
Kolkata has around 1,740 tech startups alone. The city would be the best startup location for Education, Ecommerce & Retail, and Social and Leisure startups.
As education startups in the city rank at 125, E-commerce and Retail rank at 142, and Social and leisure rank at 183 globally according to Startupblink.
Therefore, to view Kolkata as a startup hub in India would encourage more businesses as it has enormous successful startup models with a developing startup ecosystem.
FAQs
Is Kolkata good for Startup businesses?
Kolkata is the major startup hub for the eastern and northeastern parts of India. Though the capital of West Bengal, Kolkata is often known for its delicacies, heritage, and vibrant culture, the city is now emerging as a business, financial, and startup hub.
What is the most profitable startup in Kolkata?
Food and beverages, Social and Leisure, education, and e-commerce are the profitable startup ideas for Kolkata.
What are the top startups in Kolkata?
- Taxmantra
- Wow! Momo
- Notebook
- Mihup
- iKure Techsoft
- Sweethandi and Britannia
What are the low-investment businesses to start in Kolkata?
As the city is famous for its tourist spots, anything related to food, Social, and Leisure will do good. One can start food stalls, hotels, and restaurants to gain good profits. Fast foods, snack, and tea stalls, and bakeries are some of the profitable businesses in Kolkata.
