Have you ever walked into a place that was bustling with raw energy and good vibes and immediately fed off it? Probably just as you walked in, the enthusiasm and zest hit you with such a force that you couldn't help, but just be a part of it? 

The atmosphere at the Entrepreneurship Week (E Week) India Grand finale was all this and more. It included an array of entrepreneurial activities, ranging from games, contests, street plays to awareness campaigns, aimed at improving the ecosystem for entrepreneurship.

Nilima Rovshen, Executive Advisor, National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) says " The idea here is to break the mind sets of peer groups and parents and encourage students to start taking up entrepreneurship seriously."

NEN offers students guidance along with their academics to promote and develop the entrepreneurship program. While the organization doesn't  offer students finance, it  act as a catalyst and offers them networks where they can interact with each other, brain storm on new ideas and bounce these ideas to and fro between themselves.

"Bringing out the entrepreneurial spirit in young students, then building on their skills and inspiring them to do something with those skills is the challenge. Activities like these that are aimed at enhancing organizational, creative, team building and coordination skills helps in building entrepreneurship skills. Moreover, getting a sneak peak into entrepreneurship and learning the ropes from seasoned entrepreneurs is something that doesn't happen everyday" says, Suveer, a second year engineering student from MVIT who is actively engaged in the entrepreneurship program on campus.

Chief Guest Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon, pointed out the major differences between the opportunities for entrepreneurship today and yesteryears when she started out.

When I started out as an entrepreneur in 1978, it was a very difficult time. One of the greatest challenges was being 25 years old, when most first generation entrepreneurs were around 55 years and were mostly semi-retired people. At that time most entrepreneurs were very imitative and hesitant in trying out new and risky business models. To add to that there were no venture capitalists for funding. Being too young, I had to face credibility issues. People were puzzled how a woman could run a business and that too an unknown business called biotechnology.

Today there's a huge transformation as I approach the age of 55 and I can tell you that 55 is an age far too old for one to be an entrepreneur. This is an era for young entrepreneurs and India is a very different country today, since we have a huge sense of confidence and there are enormous opportunities for entrepreneurs.

 If you look at the recent Goldman Sachs report, they say India has a chance of being the third largest economic power in the world. How do we go about achieving this? Personally, I think entrepreneurship is what will help us deliver on this prophecy. The environment now is absolutely enabling where you have venture capitalists chasing you and whole bunch of schemes being announced by the banks and the government. The recent budget announced an incubation fund for young entrepreneurs and now venture capitalists are being encouraged to invest in start ups and more sops have been added.

Today people want you to take risks and want you to take up new business models. Venture capitalists are ready to bank on innovative and interesting business models and young people here are living at a time where they could never have it better. Some one asked me if I would do it all over again and I said yes! I would love to be a young entrepreneur of today.

 Entrepreneurship today can be defined as a mindset. An ideal entrepreneur is one who looks for an opportunity in every problem and by that sense entrepreneurship is not merely limited to starting a new business, but is to be applied by every individual in their jobs and other activities.

Prof. Sadagopan, IIITB, says "Creating jobs, wealth and opportunities for growth is the most satisfying aspect of life; what better way to do this than entrepreneurship? The missing element is a set of role models across industries, geography, groups; not one or two but hundreds around the country, across diverse industries both in urban and rural India among diverse groups."

The optimal role for individual entrepreneurs in the Indian economy is significantly different from that in an advanced economy. It holds even greater importance and hope for the developing world because it not only empowers the youth, but also provides people with much needed employment and boosts the economy of the country. Laura Parkin, NEN, Executive Director describes this role the best when she says "Studies reveal that nearly two-thirds of new jobs are coming from a small percentage of new and small companies. Entrepreneurship can play a major role in the development of an economy and a key role in job-creation and India definitely needs such opportunities."

Entrepreneurship Week was held at St Joseph's Indian High School, Bangalore. Celebrated from February 24 - March 3, 2007, spread across 25 cities and towns in India, E Week had more than 170 institutes and over 10,000 youth participating in various activities.

Compiled by Sandesh Shenoy for Businessgyan 

Issue BG73 Apr07

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