Web3 and its future in India! (11 months ago) The internet industry has come a long since the last few decades. Currently, India’s estimated internet users is set to reach 900 million by 2025. Combine that with the fact that 11% of the global web3 pool is from India, the answer is apparent: The future of the web will have India leading the way. And the revolution has already begun.
📌What’s India’s role in this revolution?
Right now, Indian enterprises are positioned perfectly for the next big thing on the internet. If we compare the economic and technological factors that came into play during the beginning of the web and what came after (With web1 and web2), to our growth and potential now, the momentum is immense. Our technological breakthroughs have put us on the map. A couple of decades ago, everything including e-commerce trickled down from other countries, especially the United States. But by the time Web 2.0 developed, India was gaining momentum in the digital space. With the internet turning a corner with web3, we are absolutely ready.India might need a leg up in terms of creating tech and web3 friendly spaces, but the abundance of talent in the Indian tech pool ensures we are constantly in the race. The 2022 NASSCOM report shed light on some interesting facts: While several Indian web3 startups are established overseas, they still employed talent domestically. Our biggest advantage is our talent demographic: By 2030, India will have the world’s largest pool of millennials and Gen Z (estimated at 77% of the total population by NASSCOM). Combine that with our fast-growing economy at an average of 7% in the next four years, and that is the formula for success in urbanisation, creation, and spending. We have all that it takes to be innovative and disruptive on the global front.
✅India’s Web3 story so far:
The Web3 sector in India has been around for almost a decade now, but what we are experiencing now is a mammoth growth in the sector, led by fintech, edtech and entrepreneurial tech companies. India’s economy is on an upward trajectory in a time where the world’s economy is facing several challenges. This time, unlike the rise of Web1 and Web2, the technological growth has Indian startups at its core. Cryptocurrency has taken India by storm and the web3 community is steadily working towards making it mainstream. This, along with other web3 assets, we definitely have the potential to grow even further.
Web3 startups are really thriving in the Indian market. They are creating spaces to make “dapps” or decentralised apps on the block chain with the option of creating and selling NFTs through it. Some startups have established a strong presence in the industry and are bridging the gap between the common man and web3. This also extends to entertainment and creative industries. Lot of gaming companies have incorporated web3 aspects into their ecosystem like RAW studio, that allows cross-community interoperability of games and avatar customisation.
India currently has over 450+ Web3 startups in India estimated at $1.3 billion in investments. To survive well into the future, companies must now focus on incorporating at least certain aspects of web3 into the web2 space, may it be edtech, fintech or even digital marketing. This can give them a guaranteed edge over their competitors.
✅Challenges along the way:
There are definitely some significant technological and economical hurdles in the web3 space. While the space shows immense promise, problems of privacy, scams, and the lack of awareness as well as access might make it tougher to scale up in the coming years. But, with the help of governmental intervention and regulation, the Web3 space can alter the economic landscape in the near future. A unified strategy is the need of the hour.
📌India is the future:
With significant investment in the Web3 segment, India is headed towards becoming a major driving force in the way things run on the blockchain. While an overnight shift might not be realistic, year-on-year growth can be expected at a macro level. Awareness about the concept of Web3, in a country where almost a billion people have access to the internet, can cause a monumental shift in the concept of the internet as we know it. It is only onwards and upwards from here.