Internet clampdowns, uncertainty put an end to Manipur’s promising startup scene
Many emerging enterprises have been forced into survival mode after connectivity blackouts totalling 212 days and with state’s economy in free fall.
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This article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology’s impact outside the West.
On May 2, 2023, Roshni Kumar Yambem was finishing a long day at Globizs, his IT services startup. It had not been easy for Yambem to attract an international clientele while based in the remote state of Manipur, but over the past decade, he had done it. Globizs was just beginning to emerge from a years-long pandemic slump. What came the next day, though, would change everything.
On May 3, after a violent protest, the state government shut down the internet throughout Manipur. The measure was the latest in a slew of curfews and internet shutdowns imposed in the state to control violence amid communal conflicts that have killed hundreds of people. This shutdown was the most severe yet. It lasted from May to December, a total of 212 days – the longest internet blackout in the worst year for blackouts globally, according to a report by Top10VPN, an independent virtual private network review platform.
The internet shutdown and ethnic violence put a sudden stop to Manipur’s rapidly growing startup scene. In 2021 and 2022, Manipur registered 33 and 31 startups, respectively – a higher number than most other North East Indian states, according to government data. The actual...
