Learning About Tech in India With Pankaj Jain

The Rhys Show

In this episode Pankaj Jain, founder and managing partner of Saka Ventures, talks about tech in India that is focussed on targeting large global markets. Pankaj has 25 years of international experience that integrates technology, finance, entrepreneurship, venture capital and blockchain. He views business models and startups through a cross-cultural lens coupled with an understanding of global markets. Jain has been an active angel investor as well as an advisor to venture capital funds, startups, governments and foundations. We talk about tech in India, Pankaj’s engagement for more than two decades in hedge funds, startups, and venture capital across India, what is happening in India and what will be happening in the future. We dive deep into the Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai markets as well as the UPI “Uniform Payment Interface” and how it enables new kinds of financial tech in India. Additionally we compare India to China and converse about markets that have an eye on India and how building tech products in India then leads to other markets such as Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asia instead of America first. SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/rhyslindmark JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/PDAPkhNxrC Topics: Welcome Pankaj Jain to The Rhys Show!: (00:00:00) Goal for listeners: (00:02:47) Getting started in the Indian startup industry ten years ago: (00:03:12) Understanding Indian tech: (00:10:18) How does Bangalore´s geographic position change whether people live there or not: (00:16:02) About middle decade and tech hubs getting built: (00:18:55) Just back from trip to India: what Pankaj was excited about: (00:29:05) India ten years behind China?: (00:35:18) About global investments: (00:39:47) Underrated & overrated questions about IIT, Bangalore as a tech hub and new markets such as Africa, India and China: (00:45:08) Wrap Up: (00:51:14) Mentioned resources: UPI: https://www.npci.org.in/what-we-do/upi/product-overview IIT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Institutes_of_Technology Connect with Pankaj Jain: Twitter: https://twitter.com/pjain Saka Ventures Web: https://saka.vc/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pankajjain/