Mumbai: India is home to 100 unicorns across sectors which are collectively valued at over $240 billion, a Swiss brokerage said on Tuesday.
These unicorns, or startups valued at over $1 billion, are across industries, beyond technology and tech-enabled sectors as well, like pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods, Credit Suisse India equity strategist Neelkanth Mishra told reporters here.
Mishra said two-thirds of these 100 unicorns came into being after 2005 and added that among the listed companies' universe, there are 336 scrips commanding a market capitalisation of over $1 billion.
From an enabling perspective, he said the shortage of risk capital is being addressed by private equity funds who have upped their play and also exceeded public issues, while telecom and infrastructure connectivity have also helped.
The financial technology (fintech) firms are among the leaders in the unicorn club, with five start-ups valued at over $22 billion, the brokerage said.
Indian fintech companies have attracted $10 billion of capital and are now at the forefront of India's startup ecosystem, its head of India securities research Ashish Gupta said, attributing the investor interest to growth in digital payments.