New Delhi, July 29 -- India's entrepreneurship story is, by all measure, impressive. The country is now home to over 2 lakh recognised startups, making it the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. MSMEs contribute to around 31% of the GDP and employ upwards of 300 million people. The numbers reflect genuine momentum, and the ecosystem that has grown around early-stage entrepreneurs, incubators, accelerators, seed funds, angel networks, and government schemes, has played a meaningful role in getting us here.

But there is a stage that this ecosystem has not yet learned to serve well. And it is arguably the most consequential one.

Look at where institutional attention and capital actually flow. At the early stage, the infrastructur...