India has spent the last decade building one of the world’s most active startup ecosystems. From fintech and healthcare to artificial intelligence, electric mobility, climate technology and advanced manufacturing, Indian entrepreneurs have built companies across sectors and created a strong domestic innovation ecosystem. The next challenge, however, may be bigger than creating more startups: helping Indian companies cross borders, find customers in new markets and access capital and partnerships beyond India.

That is where BRICS is beginning to look interesting.

As India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12–13, 2026, entrepreneurship and innovation have emerged as important parts of the country’s BRICS agenda. The grouping now consists of 11 countries — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, along with the UAE — representing nearly half of the world’s population and around 40% of global GDP.

For Indian founders, however, the most interesting question is not simply how large BRICS has become. The bigger question is whether the grouping can evolve into a practical launchpad for startups looking to expand internationally.

From Indian Startups to Global Startups

India’s startup story has largely been about building at home. Over the past decade, entrepreneurs have created companies across fintech, healthcare, electric mobility, artificial intelligence, climate technology, agriculture, manufacturing and consumer businesses. As these companies mature, internationalisation is becoming a natural next step.

Expanding into another country, however, is rarely as simple as finding customers. Founders need to understand local regulations, identify investors, establish partnerships, navigate payments and taxation, build distribution networks and develop an understanding of a completely different business environment. For early-stage companies in particular, the cost and complexity of entering a foreign market can be a significant barrier.

This is where India’s BRICS initiatives could become significant. Under India’s 2026 BRICS chairship, proposals have emerged for a BRICS Incubator Network and a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund, alongside wider cooperation on MSMEs, trade and supply chains. The broader objective is to make it easier for entrepreneurs in one BRICS country to connect with innovation ecosystems in another.

For an Indian startup, that could eventually mean access to incubators, investors, mentors, technology partners and business networks beyond the domestic market.

What Is the BRICS Incubator Network?

The proposed BRICS Incubator Network is designed as a digital interface connecting national agencies, selected incubators and startups across BRICS countries. The framework envisages startups registering through the network and potentially being connected with participating incubators in other countries, while qualified startups could also be referred to incubators across the BRICS ecosystem.

For an early-stage founder, such access can be almost as important as capital. Consider an Indian climate-tech company developing technology for water management. Instead of attempting to enter a new market completely on its own, the company could potentially connect with an incubator, technology partner or business network in another BRICS country that understands the local ecosystem.

A similar opportunity could exist for an Indian agritech startup searching for agricultural partners, a health-tech company looking for regional markets or a manufacturing startup trying to identify overseas suppliers and distribution partners. The potential value of the network therefore goes beyond creating another digital platform. Its real test will be whether it can translate online connections into actual customers, investments, partnerships and market access.

The Startup Innovation Fund

Alongside the incubator network, India has proposed a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund to catalyse financing for early- and growth-stage startups and support innovation-driven entrepreneurship across BRICS countries.

There is, however, an important distinction to make. The fund remains a proposal at this stage, and its final corpus, structure and launch timeline have not yet been specified. It would therefore be premature to describe it as a new source of funding that Indian founders can currently access.

The more important question is what such a fund could become if participating countries eventually turn the proposal into a functioning investment mechanism. If properly structured, a cross-border fund could create another channel for early- and growth-stage companies to raise capital while encouraging investors to look beyond their domestic markets.

That could be particularly relevant for sectors that require significant capital and longer development cycles. Deep-tech, semiconductor technology, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and biotechnology companies often require substantially more time and investment than conventional software businesses. A functioning cross-border funding mechanism could potentially give some of these companies another route to scale.

India Is Already Building Its Domestic Funding Base

The BRICS proposals come at a time when India is simultaneously strengthening its own startup financing ecosystem. In February 2026, the Union Cabinet approved Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 with a ₹10,000 crore corpus, aimed at mobilising venture capital for Indian startups, with a focus that includes deep-tech, innovative manufacturing and early-growth companies. The scheme is being deployed through eligible alternative investment funds rather than directly funding individual startups.

This creates an interesting two-level opportunity for Indian entrepreneurs. India is continuing to build the domestic capital ecosystem required to help startups grow, while BRICS could potentially create a cross-border layer that helps successful companies look beyond the Indian market.

In other words, one ecosystem could help startups build scale in India, while the other could potentially help them take that scale overseas.

The Bigger Opportunity May Be Beyond Funding

It is tempting to view the BRICS Startup Innovation Fund primarily through the lens of capital. But money is only one part of building a global company.

A founder entering a new country also needs customers, suppliers, technology partners, mentors, employees, logistics networks and local knowledge. For many startups, particularly those operating in physical industries, establishing these connections can be more difficult than raising the initial funding.

That is why other BRICS initiatives could be equally important. India has also been working on a BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal, intended to connect businesses with technology centres, trade associations, financial institutions, training organisations and policymakers. The wider agenda also includes cooperation on supply chains and logistics.

For startups involved in physical products, manufacturing or hardware, these developments could prove particularly relevant. An electric-vehicle component company, for example, may need suppliers in one market, manufacturing capabilities in another and customers in a third. The ability to navigate such a cross-border ecosystem could become a competitive advantage.

A Different Route to Going Global

For years, the phrase “global Indian startup” has often been associated with expansion into the United States, Europe and other established technology markets. BRICS presents a different possibility by placing greater attention on emerging economies and the Global South.

That could create opportunities for Indian startups whose products are specifically designed around the needs of developing markets. Affordable healthcare technology, financial inclusion products, agricultural technology, climate solutions, digital public infrastructure and low-cost manufacturing technologies are all areas where challenges can be similar across emerging economies.

A solution developed in India, therefore, does not necessarily have to remain an Indian solution. With the right local partnerships and adaptations, the same technology could potentially be relevant in markets such as Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Egypt and other emerging economies.

That is where the BRICS opportunity becomes more interesting. Instead of viewing international expansion only through the traditional lens of entering Western technology markets, Indian founders could potentially build businesses across a wider network of emerging economies facing similar challenges.

But There Are Real Challenges

The opportunity is significant, but cooperation on paper does not automatically translate into business opportunities. The first challenge will be execution. A startup network will only create meaningful value if founders can actually use it to find investors, customers, technology partners and business opportunities.

Regulation presents another major challenge. Every country has different rules covering taxation, data, foreign investment, intellectual property and business registration. Creating a digital platform to connect startups may be relatively straightforward; making these regulatory systems easier to navigate will be considerably more difficult.

Market access is another issue. Countries can agree to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation while companies still face practical barriers when attempting to enter one another’s markets. India’s own business discussions around the BRICS summit have highlighted concerns relating to investment restrictions and access to high-technology imports, particularly in relation to China.

That serves as a reminder that deeper economic cooperation does not eliminate geopolitical and commercial realities.

The Real Test Will Be What Happens After the Summit

The BRICS Summit can produce announcements, frameworks and policy commitments. Startups, however, ultimately need outcomes.

An Indian founder does not necessarily need another policy document. They need a customer in another country, an investor willing to back the company, a trusted local partner or a faster route through regulatory hurdles. The success of the proposed incubator network and startup fund should therefore be measured through tangible results rather than the number of initiatives announced.

How many startups actually use the network? How much capital eventually crosses borders? How many Indian companies enter new BRICS markets? How many partnerships are created? And how many jobs, products and businesses emerge as a result of this cooperation?

Those numbers will matter far more to founders than the number of announcements made at the summit.

Could BRICS Become India’s Next Startup Launchpad?

India has already demonstrated that it can create startups at scale. The next challenge is helping those startups become globally competitive companies.

BRICScould provide one possible route. The proposed Startup Innovation Fund could address capital, while the Incubator Network could help address connections. The MSME initiatives could potentially improve access to business networks, and supply-chain cooperation could create new opportunities for manufacturing and hardware companies.

Taken together, these initiatives point towards something larger than a funding programme. They suggest an attempt to build a cross-border innovation ecosystem connecting entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, businesses and institutions across emerging markets.

But the opportunity will ultimately depend on execution. If these initiatives remain largely frameworks and declarations, their impact on founders will be limited. If they develop into functioning networks where entrepreneurs can raise capital, find partners, enter new markets and build companies across borders, BRICS could become something much more valuable.

It could become a bridge between India’s startup ecosystem and some of the world’s fastest-growing markets.

India has already built the startups. The next question is whether it can build the bridges that help them go global.

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