Published Date: March 18, 2024 | Author: Kevin T. Carter, Founder & CIO of EMQQ Global.
While smartphones and ecommerce have become ubiquitous in developed markets, 1.4 billion young consumers in India are only just now beginning to get online, experiencing the profound impacts of the Internet on daily life. The convergence of declining technology costs and a government focused on growing India’s connectivity are enabling significant economic growth and a digitization boom that is creating a ripe investment opportunity for those paying attention.
As the rest of the world transitions into this digital era, India is embracing technology and making significant investments in both physical and digital infrastructure, quickly taking the country into the age of connectivity.
With a swelling middle class of young, digitized consumers hungry for modernization, innovative companies in India are just now beginning to go public and join the ranks of the India Internet & Ecommerce Index (ticker: INQQ). For those interested in investing in emerging markets, the time is now to take a closer look at this thriving economy and increase exposure to what we believe will become India’s digital golden age.
With 1.8 billion people or 28% of the emerging markets population, pictures and graphs can’t possibly describe the sheer number of humans and the density in which they populate South Asia and its chaotic megacities. India is incredibly diverse, with over 2,000 ethnic groups, six major religions, and 22 government-recognized languages, creating both challenges and opportunities. A young population and favorable demographics only add to the importance of the region for investors in the coming decades.
India has developed a unique “digital public infrastructure” over the past 15 years that is only now revealing its power and bearing fruits. This digital public infrastructure (aka the ‘India Stack’) refers to a set of digital infrastructure components and protocols that have been implemented in India to support the country’s digital transformation and enable a range of digital services. It was designed to provide a secure and scalable foundation for various government and private sector applications.
The India Stack consists of three key components:
Source: iSPIRT, Rahul Sanghi, via Tigerfeathers, “The Internet Country” January 2021.
Aadhaar (which means “foundation) is a biometric identification system that assigns a unique 12-digit identification number to each Indian resident. It serves as a digital identity for citizens, allowing them to access various government services and private sector applications.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a real-time payment system that facilitates instant fund transfers between bank accounts using smartphones. It allows individuals to send and receive money, pay bills, make merchant payments, and more, directly from their bank accounts. UPI has gained significant popularity in India and has simplified digital payments.
Digilocker is a cloud-based platform that provides individuals with a digital storage space to securely store and share their official documents and certificates. It eliminates the need for physical documents and enables easy access to important records, such as educational certificates, driving licenses, and government-issued documents.
These components of the India Stack work together to create a digital ecosystem that enhances convenience, efficiency, and accessibility for Indian citizens. The goal is to enable the delivery of various services, including financial services, healthcare, education, and more, through digital means while ensuring security and privacy. No other country on the planet has anything like the India Stack. It is our contention that the true power of this digital public infrastructure will not just facilitate India’s economic growth but accelerate it and largely define it. This is India’s secret weapon.
As India powers its large-scale digital transformation, many parts of its economy will be affected. A key economic player is the traditional kirana store – a hyperlocal neighbourhood provision store or “mom and pop” shop that carries a regular supply of essentials for a local neighbourhood. At first glance, these shops may seem insignificant – individual shops owned by individual owners – but due to the sheer size of India and the Indian retail market, kiranas make up a $450 billion industry.
As in many emerging and frontier markets, India’s existing retail spending is dominated by 13 million kirana stores that control 90% of India’s massive retail spending – a number that is quickly approaching $1 trillion annually. While “traditional” ecommerce players like FlipKart and Amazon are seeing significant growth, it appears that a hybrid ecommerce model will be a unique and major part of India’s digital economy. The newest part of the “India Stack”, the Open Network for Digital Commerce, should play a central role in the acceleration of this hybrid model.
Currently, U.S. investors have around $8 billion USD in the 14 Indian equity ETFs trading on NYSE and NASDAQ. (This compares to $26 Billion in the 56 China ETFs currently available.) The largest, iShares INDA tracks the MSCI India Index, while iShares’ sibling INDY, the 3rd largest, tracks the “Indian Nifty Fifty” index. In India, the ETF market is quite small but quickly growing, with 90% inflows going into ETFs tracking the “Nifty Fifty”.
While the Nifty Fifty does offer exposure to some of the sectors that will benefit from India’s growth (consumer, financials, etc.), it has very little exposure to the Indian internet and ecommerce companies that should capture the most growth in the coming decades. In fact, we’d say it’s more than likely that some of them will one day join the Nifty Fifty.
That’s why we decided to create the India Internet & Ecommerce Index (ticker: INQQ), focused on providing investors with exposure to the growth occurring across the Internet and ecommerce sectors in India. The index covers over 20 companies operating in India, ranging from sectors like internet services, online retail, digital media, search engines, social networks, and more. The stage is set for the country to enter a golden age of digitization – will you be joining the revolution?
INQQ India Internet and Ecommerce ESG-S UCITS ETF (INQQ) offers investors the opportunity to access the rapid digitization of India.
For professional investors only. When you invest in ETFs your capital is at risk.
Four key drivers behind copper’s growth opportunity
September 2026
Three things investors should consider before investing in uranium ETFs
The Merits of Bottom-Up Investing
El Niño’s ripple effects: How a strengthening pacific pattern is moving different asset classes
August 2026
The forces shaping crypto’s next move
Buried Treasure: How Geopolitical Relief Could Unearth Mining Gains
Canada beyond the headlines: the case for energy, financials, and real estate
Beyond a Chatbot: How can emerging-market platforms monetise AI?
July 2026
Lloyd Capital Outlook
Mag 7 to Lag 7: What a tech stumble says about the potential risks of investing in major indices
Natural Gas – growing source of global energy and uncertainty
What is the cost of rebuilding Ukraine?
June 2026
Why are central banks buying what they once sold?
Defence 2.0: How Drones and Cyber are reshaping investments
What investors should consider before investing in Defence ETFs in 2026
Copper’s role in the world has shifted
The quest for the perfect business
How memory is the AI bottleneck
What does AI mean for cyber defence?
Do drones mean the death of defence primes?
Computing’s next big disruption is already here
May 2026
Why can’t silver supply keep up with demand?
How much will the US military spend on drones?
What does the Iran war mean for travel and North American energy?
April 2026
Navigating geopolitics, energy security and structural demand
Global Instability and the Future of European Energy Security
Canada has what the world needs
March 2026
Ukraine could become the West’s solution for rearmament
Iran crisis – four sectors to keep on your radar
From tanks to code: why the next defence boom will be digital
February 2026
Why cybersecurity and defence may be complementary themes?
Preferred shares and outlook for months ahead
Next stop for global travel
The new nuclear age – why physical uranium matters now
Critical Commodities for 2026
Reconciling responsibility with rearmament
January 2026
The New Age of Tech | Tech Megatrend Outlook 2026
The Future of Emerging Markets: 2026 Market Outlook
Shape of the Markets by PT Asset Management
October 2025
Nuclear Energy – why uranium is back in favour
September 2025
Copper’s less known demand driver: defence
Indo-Pacific Rearmament: How much will defence budgets grow by 2030?
How gold is custodied and why it should matter to investors
Travel in 2025 – strong data drives growth
August 2025
Understanding covered call ETFs
Different approaches to covered call ETFs
The opportunity presented by volatility
Heightened demand for defence in the pacific region
Three drivers of the health care sector in 2025
Equal weighted tech – an interview with Anthony Ginsberg
July 2025
Indo-Pacific Defence: What, Why and How?
Magnificent 8 of India – High-growth tech stocks in India to watch
The nuclear revival – a new dawn for uranium investment
June 2025
ETFs are getting active – is your portfolio ready?
May 2025
Three themes shaping the future of energy and ETFs to access them
Sharpening the Blade: How traders use leveraged and short crypto ETPs
Practical Uses for Leveraged and Short Crypto ETPs
April 2025
Why it is not too late for European defence
Understanding Daily Leveraged and Short ETPs
The basics of the covered call strategy: Potential income and capital growth
March 2025
Tariffs, Tensions and the Uranium Opportunity
What would a US withdrawal from NATO mean for European defence?
Holding case study: Rheinmetall
Holding case study: Bae Systems
Three themes that are reshaping the gold market
February 2025
ETFs Are Gaining Ground Over Mutual Funds
Europe’s sidelining by US prompts defence spending reality check
Will Europe be forced to defend itself alone?
December 2024
Uranium 2025: Opportunities in a Structurally Undersupplied Market
Copper 2025: The Red Metal’s Next Chapter After a Year in the Black
Midstream Energy: Dividend Growth and Natural Gas Demand Drive 2025 Outlook
Emerging Markets 2025: The Rise of Digital and E-Commerce Giants
2025: A Year for Disciplined Investing in an Uncertain World
Health care’s Comeback: Why 2025 Could Revive the Sector’s Vital Signs
Trump and Tech: M&A Revival, Trade Shifts, and the Rise of Automation
Bitcoin’s Year Ahead: Why 2025 Could Be a Halving Hit
Clear skies ahead: is the travel industry poised for takeoff in 2025?
Golden Era: Why 2025 Could Shine Bright for Gold and Miners
Global Equities Under Trump: A New Era of Tariffs, Taxes, and Uncertainty
Europe rearms for a world of greater geopolitical risk
November 2024
US Election 2024: The Stakes for NATO and the Defence Industry
October 2024
Do the Mag 7 have too much influence over the S&P 500?
Investors don’t care enough about recycled gold
The Royal Mint: A Millennium in the Making
Currency Hedged Physical Gold ETCs FAQs
Why would you use an ETF over a mutual fund?
Five companies leading India’s internet boom
September 2024
Can gold shine through the market turbulence
August 2024
Taking a U-turn: the world may be ready to embrace nuclear
June 2024
AI adds to positive natural gas outlook
Copper – the defining metal of a new age
Trump stance will force NATO countries to spend more whether elected or not
May 2024
The great travel industry rebound
ESG Mining – Turning a brown industry greener
ESG and defence investing: a balancing act
Dominant Magnificent 7 could lose ground to broader tech rally
The fall of Russian defence spending, and the rise of NATO
April 2024
The AI Revolution – a commodities play?
Recycled gold and traceability
Why investors should consider defence
Copper’s new supercycle | Fresh highs and the long-term story
Bitcoin in 2024 – a monumental year so far
March 2024
Gold price rallies but miners need to catch up
Global instability – three potential ways to hedge
February 2024
Energy Transition: The Metal Elephant in the Room
January 2024
HANetf’s 2024 Outlook
December 2023
Two Ways to Invest in Low-carbon Gold
March 2023
US ETFs are not the only ETF wrapper with a tax advantage; Irish domiciled ETFs have one too!
Making Gold sustainable with HANetf’s Recycled Gold ETC and ESG Gold Mining ETF
February 2023
Article | There is no Walt Disney Company in crypto yet…
January 2023
Gold Shining in 2023?
HANetf 2022 wrap up and outlook for 2023: Where did the inflows go?
Key Dates for Digital Assets in 2022
Article | The Merge and Ethereum – what you need to know
September 2022
Article | Why small ETFs are not necessarily less liquid
February 2022
Solar Energy 101 | Understanding the Solar Energy UCITS ETF
June 2021
The Royal Mint ESG Credentials
May 2021
Six Things to Know about Investing in a Gold ETC
August 2020
The Royal Mint Physical Gold ETC (RMAU) Frequently Asked Questions
April 2020
The Importance of the Physical Gold ETC Custodian | RMAU
March 2020
Responsible Gold Bars & Physical Redemption | RMAU | The Royal Mint Physical Gold ETC
Select Your Country
Select Your Investor Type
Choose a brokerage
Choose a product
You are now leaving HANetf's website and accessing a third-party website. HANetf may provide access to information, products, or services offered on websites that are owned or operated by other companies ("third-party websites"). We provide this access through the use of hyperlinks that automatically move you from a HANetf website to the third-party site.
While we do our best to provide you with helpful, trustworthy resources, HANetf cannot endorse, approve, or guarantee information, products, services, or recommendations provided at a third-party website. Since we may not always know when information on a linked site changes, HANetf is not responsible for the content or accuracy of any third-party website. HANetf shall not be responsible for any loss or damage of any sort resulting from the use of a link on its websites nor will it be liable for any failure of products or services advertised or provided on these linked sites.
HANetf offers you links on an "as is" basis. When you visit a third-party website by using a link on a HANetf site, you will no longer be protected by the HANetf privacy policy or security practices. The data collection, use, and protection practices of the linked site may differ from the practices of HANetf sites. You should familiarize yourself with the privacy policy and security practices of the linked website. Those are the policies and practices that will apply to your use of the linked website, not the HANetf policies and practices.
Here are some tips to help you tell if you have left a HANetf website:
Important Notice: HANetf is a provider of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs). We do not sell investment products directly to individual investors. Our funds are available through regulated investment platforms and brokers. Our only official website is www.hanetf.com. Any other domain is not affiliated with or authorised by HANetf in any way. If you suspect fraudulent activity, please contact your local financial regulator and/or the police and report the website or individual involved.