Bridging Borders: Market Gaps to Global Maps
How Jasmine Batra is turning international ambition into action, one founder, one market, and one leap at a time.
Jasmine Batra has a way of drawing people in. Her energy feels both grounded and expansive with a mix of warmth, wisdom, and quiet conviction. Whether she’s mentoring a startup founder, chairing a cross-border roundtable, or guiding teams through go-to-market strategy, Jasmine Batra is known for asking the right questions and for her rare ability to connect vision with action. She’s not just helping businesses grow or access new markets, she’s building pathways that foster global innovation.
At the heart of her work is The Big LEAP Accelerator, a founder-first program she created to help Australian startups take on the Indian market with confidence and clarity. But her work isn’t confined to a single program or a single direction. Jasmine is quietly building bridges between innovation systems by connecting founders, policymakers, investors, and innovation ecosystems across two of the world’s most dynamic economies. Where others see red tape and complexity, she sees possibility and momentum.
Helping Businesses Go Big and Go Far
Jasmine’s career didn’t follow a straight line. Every chapter added the learning and perspective that she would later draw on. Her first corporate role in Australia was in resource planning and analytics, forecasting call volumes and spotting patterns in data. It was structured and methodical, giving her the discipline to analyse data points. She soon found herself back in the world of tech, helping founders simplify the messaging and share data-backed insights on the product roadmap of their SaaS solutions, playing at the intersection of software and strategy. This rare blend of analytical thinking and creative experimentation laid the foundation for everything that came next.
When she moved from India to Australia in 2004, Jasmine didn’t just bring digital know-how. She brought the spark of an entrepreneur determined to make an impact. That spark turned into Arrow Digital Marketing, an agency she co-founded and grew into a trusted growth partner for hundreds of Australian businesses. It is one of the longest-standing independent agencies in the country.
Jasmine led with foresight and an ability to see around corners, working with ambitious business leaders. Early success stories included helping brands like Telstra, Stayz, Kidspot, BikeExchange, and Groupon to carve out market share in competitive landscapes.
“We don’t just do marketing,” she often says. “We lay the groundwork for sustainable success.” And she means it. Whether it’s brand positioning, dominating Google search, or buyer journey mapping, Arrow has established itself as more than an agency. Under her leadership, it is seen as a launchpad that helps businesses to scale.
Launching The Big LEAP
By 2021, Jasmine was ready to take her mission global. She conceived The Big LEAP Accelerator, the first of its kind initiative helping Australian startups scale into India with strategy, speed, and cultural intelligence.
Backed by the Australian Government through AusIndustry, and supported by partners like T-Hub, Global Victoria, La Trobe University, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, the Big LEAP was built for one thing: to make international expansion doable, not daunting.
Because launching in a new country isn’t just a business move, it’s a leap of faith.
India offers massive potential due to rapid digital adoption, market depth, and a hunger for innovation. But it’s not a plug-and-play environment. That’s where Jasmine steps in. She doesn’t just design programs, she is bridging market gaps. Through structured support, warm intros, and planned execution, she helps founders navigate the messy middle where most expansions fall apart.
The program includes:
- India-Ready Bootcamp covering positioning, pricing, and partnerships
- Immersion trips for on-ground exposure, validation, and traction
- Sector-focused mentoring in sectors like AI, ClimateTech, AgriTech, HealthTech, and Fintech
- Championing regional innovation and supporting female founders
Big LEAP’s impact hasn’t gone unnoticed. It was recognised at the Australia India Impact Awards, IABCA 2024, at Parliament House, and Jasmine has since gone on to lead meaningful conversations, including panels at SXSW Sydney, to bridge policy and practice.
She brings a rare trifecta: founder empathy, global strategy, and policy literacy. “Government talks macro. Founders are deep in the details, ” she says. “I operate in the middle so we can leverage the tailwinds of economic policies while staying grounded in what it takes to scale.”
The results speak for themselves. Startups like Lensell and others aren’t just entering the Indian market — they’re gaining traction, earning trust, and building something that lasts.
Jasmine’s Secret Ingredient? People
What truly sets Jasmine apart isn’t just her experience; it’s her deep understanding of people. Growing up in India and building her career in Australia gave her rare insight into the cultural and commercial gaps that can stumble the most promising startups. She doesn’t just understand both worlds, instead knows how to translate between them.
That dual-market fluency has become one of her biggest strengths, exemplified in her role as National Convener for Technology & Innovation at the Australia India Chamber of Commerce (AICC), to facilitate bilateral trade, investment, and policies to close complex commercial deals. Her mission: to create real-world pathways and not just MoUs that are filed in drawers and photo ops for the optics. It’s to help businesses thrive across borders.
For Jasmine, tech and funding are just tools. What matters is the clarity of value. “It always comes back to value creation,” she says. “What real problem are you solving, and how well do you know your customer?”
It’s this ability to zoom in on what matters, blending strategy with insight is that makes Jasmine more than an advisor. She becomes a co-pilot in the entrepreneurial journey. Someone who helps you with a safe & smooth landing.
Championing Women, Migrants, and Marginalised Voices
Jasmine’s vision for entrepreneurship has never been limited to high-growth tech or big-ticket exits. At its core, her work is about people, especially those who have historically been left out of the room.
She’s deeply committed to backing women, migrants, and regional founders — the ones who don’t always have insider networks or access to early capital, but have ideas worth building and voices worth amplifying.
Whether it’s mentoring women-led businesses through programs like SBE Australia, spotlighting migrant founders through showcase platforms, or simply making the right intro at the right time, Jasmine leads with intent and inclusion.
“Sometimes,” she says, “it’s just about opening one door for someone. That can change everything.”
Jasmine is a regular advocate for diversity in entrepreneurship and has pushed for policy frameworks that support multicultural and migrant-led innovation. In 2025, she was recognised as a finalist for the Australia Today International Women’s Day Award in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship category, a nod to the ripple effect of her work far beyond the boardrooms.
The Big Picture
Jasmine Batra doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges that come with scaling globally from Australia. She sees one of the country’s greatest strengths, the easygoing attribute, as a double-edged sword.
“Australia is a very blessed land with a ‘no worries’ culture,” she says. “People are relaxed, optimistic, and value work-life balance, and that’s beautiful. But sometimes we get too comfortable. Comfort can dull the urgency that drives innovation.”
Despite its enviable quality of life and multicultural edge, Australia still lags in global innovation indexes. Jasmine sees this not as a gap in capability, but in conditions. “Comfort can dull the urgency that fuels innovation.”
To her, entrepreneurship isn’t just about building businesses. It’s about solving real problems, shifting systems, and lifting communities. She not only works with startups but also with governments, accelerators, research hubs, and corporate leaders to help design strategies that are both economically bold and socially grounded.
When she’s not building global pathways or leading policy-linked conversations, Jasmine recharges through her daily rituals — yoga, meditation, and nature walks. That balance between fierce ambition and grounded stillness is part of what makes her such a compelling force.
“Keep that fire burning, the one that’s creative and curious,” she says.
“Sometimes, the greatest ideas come from questioning what everyone else just accepts. Be the one who challenges old patterns. Looking in the direction that most have their backs towards, that’s where the real magic happens.”
The Big Takeaway
Jasmine often says, “Stop waiting for the elusive point in time when all your ducks are in a row. Take the leap and course-correct as you go.”
It’s a philosophy she lives by, one that’s helped her build businesses, guide founders, and reimagine what’s possible across borders.
She’s proof that strategic risks pay off. That focus beats frenzy. And that diversity isn’t just good ethics, it’s great business.
So if you’re a founder ready to expand, a policymaker looking to unlock new markets, or someone with a great product but no idea of how to get it out there, Jasmine Batra is the kind of person you want in your corner.
The ethos that surfaced many times in our conversation was that business can be more than just profitable by becoming a force for good. A force powerful enough to bridge cultures, solve problems, and leave the world a little better than we found it.
To learn more about Jasmine Batra, connect on LinkedIn or explore the official websites: JasmineBatra.com, Arrow Digital, and The Big LEAP.
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