Category: Entrepreneurship

Chess has the potential to reach a billion people: CEO of U Mumba Suhail Chandhok

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Suhail Chandhok is a familiar name to many sports fans in India. He is a popular TV presenter and  commentator. From hosting IPL shows to lending his voice as a commentator at the Pro Kabaddi League, Chandhok  has done plenty. Chandhok is also a sports entrepreneur. He is the CEO of U Mumba teams in the Pro Kabaddi League and the Ultimate Table Tennis.

His latest venture is becoming the CEO of the upGrad Mumba Masters, one of six teams participating in the recently-launched Global Chess League.

Before Chandhok turned to the world of media and sports entrepreneurship, he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Travis Head, Nathan Lyon and many top Australian cricketers in his journey to become a cricketer. Chandhok had a IPL contract in hand and was poised to make his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore before a knee injury cut short his cricket career.

But taking inspiration from Bruce Lee’s “Be like water” quote,  Chandhok charted his own path to become an established name in the world of sports.

Chandhok spoke to CNBCTV18.com all the way from Dubai, where he is currently with his Mumba Masters team watching the inaugural season of the GCL unfold. Chandhok touched on his foray into sports business, his passion for kabbadi, what made him take interest in chess and how can India become a sporting powerhouse, among other things, in this conversation.

How was your first experience watching a chess match being played in a chess league? How were the things different?

Chandhok: A lot quieter. When you are used to the razzmatazz  of the IPL and the PKL, even UTT when we have it. Very very different. The upGrad Mumba Masters — as a team we came together quite nicely. It has happened very quickly, which we have to keep in mind. The first aim here is to grow the game. All of us want to grow the game of chess. Just on the opening couple of nights it has been really interesting. There is a lot of learning.

Grischuk brings the win for @umumba! #GlobalChessLeague @GCLlive

Game: https://t.co/9fjUBetkt7 https://t.co/1afZZRvW3u pic.twitter.com/2iyOVOmYB8

— Chess.com – India (@chesscom_in) June 22, 2023

I love learning constantly. I would have never imagined that I would be called a kabaddi expert. I like to believe that over the course of the next few years I would like to add chess to my repertoire of sports. It is a much more challenging sport. But it’s a very unique experience so far — dealing with the players. The way they approach the game. The capabilities of these guys is quiet extraordinary. Yesterday when I was sitting with the players for the dinner, they were saying things like “how come you made this move.” As a team we believe, we win or learn, we don’t lose. We win and learn together. We eat together. We make sure that we spend time together. As a team we are trying to bring the team culture to chess. It is a two-way learning street.

What pushed you to become a sports entrepreneur?

Chandhok: It goes back a few years. I and my co-founders, Arvind  (Sivdas) and Dhanya (Parameshwaran), used to meet quiet often. Arvind  used to do all the auction strategies for Chennai Super Kings and for Puneri Paltan (team in the Pro Kabbadi League). We kept meeting at various auctions. We kept saying that we want to do something in kabbad,i we want to make an impact in the sport. No one is doing much at the grassroots level. There is no database in kabaddi. No “cricinfo” in kabaddi. So the entrepreneurial journey started with the idea of building a cricinfo for kabaddi.

Cricinfo is my homepage. So for me it made instant sense. We did that with kabaddi adda. We then shut that company down. We moved to Elevate India Sports, where we created the NCAA to the NBA model for Pro Kabbadi. It is like Formula 2 to Formula 1.

The Yuva Kabbadi Series is our baby. It is an under-23 platform. Last year I think more that 50 percent of all NYP (New Young Players) in the PKL came from the Yuva Series. For them we are changing lives. I went and met a few of the players’ families. Suddenly a village that is only into farming has become a kabbadi village. In the middle of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana…

Largely it was driven by making an impact in the sport that has given me so much. It has given  me a lot. But we noticed that there is a massive gap. Pro Kabbadi happens for 2.5 months. If we can funnel talent back towards Pro Kabbadi and create a seamless pathway … at the same time, teach them (kabbadi players) about financial literacy, about media training, become a well-rounder human beings, at age before they reach Pro Kabbadi, before they see all the limelight… that was the thought behind it.

Jumping into the CEO role at U Mumba — I think that was something well thought through. Ronnie (Screwvala) spoke to me at the start of the year and said the previous CEO is stepping down. There is an opportunity there. I had a very frank and honest conversation with him. He said he won’t step on my toes when it came to sports and I was very clear that I will come to him for business advice. We had a common goal of promoting youth. When both of those things came together it was a pretty easy “yes”. Though I will now miss commentating on Pro Kabbadi.

How has kabbadi as a sport grown since the inception of Pro Kabbadi League?

Chandhok: I can think of no other sport in the world that could potentially have the impact that Pro Kabbadi has had on a single sport. No sport has been reinvented the way it has and has been launched in the way Pro Kabaddi.

I think Pro Kabaddi has not just changed the landscape of Indian sports, but global sports as well. Here, we have a rural indigenous sport of India that is revamped into the razzmatazz of the NBA. The quick thinking of a chess player, the punchiness of a boxer, the quick timing of any top athlete of the world. When you bring all those elements together and you pack it into a 40-minute bout, it is quite spectacular. It still gives me goosebumps thinking about the very first night of the Pro Kabaddi League, when the lights first came on at the NSCI dome in Mumbai.

3 days before @ProKabaddi returns to the mat!

It has truly transformed the landscape of #sport and lives in #India, including mine.

Here’s my piece @livemint @Mint_Lounge on the sport that Raided my Heart…@anandmahindra @juniorbachchan @RonnieScrewvala @udaykotak#PKL pic.twitter.com/5YCo8ibyr6

— Suhail Chandhok (@suhailchandhok) December 19, 2021

I knew kabaddi existed, but kabaddi reinventing itself and actually existing in the public eye for the first time — that was a very special feeling. To see that journey of a sport from zero to being the second biggest sport in the country behind cricket… I had messages people from Switzerland, Germany, England of people watching kabaddi in a pub and having a drink.

You have invested in kabaddi. You have stakes in a team in Ultimate Table Tennis and now you have also ventured into Global Chess League. I see you have invested into sports leagues outside cricket. Is that a deliberate risk that you have taken?

Chandhok: Impact creation. The key is to also be able to give to sports that have potential and the athletes that have the potential but don’t have the necessary platform to showcase themselves.  Look at kabaddi. From my startup I realised that what is the appetite for the sport. In table tennis there is unbelievable potential.  Everyone has played TT as some stage. You look at the potential of the players. Weather it is Manav Thakkar. A young Diya Chitale.  Weather it is your Sathiyans or Manikas. The way they have unleashed their talent. There is a true potential in TT.  Everyone plays it. Every office has a TT table, every school has a TT table.

Around 600 million people are playing chess — whether it is social or professional.  So many people messaged me after we launched UpGrad Mumba Masters. People said to me that their kids go to chess classes everyday. The beauty of chess is that you are taking a generation that is so looped to their phones away for technology for an hour and a half or two hours a day. If you are able to do that there is an impact story in itself.

But sports leagues in India are struggling to capture the imagination. After the IPL only the PKL and the Indian Super League have been successful. Some leagues have diapered.  What is happening and what can these sports leagues do better?

Chandhok: The one thing that is hugely different in the IPL, the PKL and the ISL is the quality of the ownership. I am seeing that even in chess. More and more leagues are thinking about why the quality of owners is so important — to shape the league, to understand how to make it better for the players. When you have good owners, who understand that it is for the players and for the impact. When problems arise they come together. That is something that I have seen with PKL and IPL with chess now and also with UTT.

You look back at Pro Kabbadi, what Star Sports did in season one was spectacular. They reinvented the wheel. They threw everything at season one. That is the other thing. When you look at any of these leagues, season one was a grand success but also a risk. All of these leagues said let’s put everything in season one and create season one as the impact creation season. Let’s show the world what kabaddi is. Let’s show the world what Indian football is. Let’s show the world what the global chess could be in season one. Not in season two or season three. If you don’t do in season one you are not getting a season two or season three.

Belief in the sport is such a big word.

Talking about your latest foray. You have invested in Global Chess League. From the outside, chess feels like the least spectator friendly and least broadcast friendly sport. Yet we now have a chess league.  Why this push for chess being played in a chess league format?

Chandhok: The potential of the sport. Around 600 million people play chess. I think that potential is up to a billion. After we invested in this team, I started diving into chess.com. It is incredible how many layers that are there to the sport.

The question is how do you broadcast the sport. From all our chats, whether it was with Jagdish Mitra or with Anand Mahindra or with Sameer Pathak — we asked them what are we doing to popularise the sport? How are we going to showcase it differently?

What was amazing was that there was a clear-cut plan. We are going to make it more accessible to the layperson. The feed will only evolve as the power of digital goes forward. That is going to have a massive play. The power of digital within sport is huge.

We are not searching for a chess audience. There is a chess audience. It is a niche audience that is so involved. But it is now about adding your kabaddi audience, your football audience, your cricket audience into chess.

It helps that you have people within cricket team that understand chess. I know Ashwin (Ravichandran Ashwin), Yuzi Chahal (Yuzvendra Chahal). I know actors like Aamir Khan,  Shah Rukh, they are all big chess fans. So it is about getting these people also talk about chess.

The appreciation about the sport will come when more and more people talk about it. That is the biggest thing that this league will do is to create more and more buzz about chess. A massive step is being taken. Tech Mahindra is backing it.

Coming to the team factor. I wondered the same thing — is it actually going to be a team event? How is going to play out? I will say, after the first five days of being with our team, it has been a beautiful experience. It is funny how the camaraderie has come together within a chess team.  You don’t normally see that. After this tournament these are the guys who will play against each other. But I am seeing them after the match go to each other and talk to each other.

We intentionally picked a team where we think the players are very good people. Steve Waugh said at the opening ceremony that when he built the great Australian team he wanted to build a team of good people that play for each other. That is something I reminded my team at upGrad Mumba Master. For them it is something new. It is like Davis Cup in Tennis. Take an individual sport and make a team and suddenly there is so much life. The chess players are learning about other team sports.

Any young and exciting chess players to watch out for in GCL and even after the league is over?

Chandhok: India is the next nation for chess. Everyone is talking about it. I was talking to the players from France, Russia, and everyone from around the world. Everyone is talking about India. That is also one of the reasons why we invested into GCL. In the next 10 years, India is going to be the next global force. We have 82 Grand Masters. It is a very big change from what it was 5-10 years ago. That is the current generation that is coming through.

In our team alone Vidit Gujarathi is not just the superstar in the chess world he is a superstar on social media. He has got a flair about himself. There are other young players coming through ranks. Every week we are hearing of an Indian Grand Master. It is quiet incredible to see the talent and the interest. Thankfully also there seems to be a lot of corporate backing for chess. India is the next big global powerhouse in chess that I can say with 100 percent confidence.

Win or learn…a team that eats together, stays together 🧡🤗🚀

What say @viditchess @anishgiri 🤣😉

Good vibes with this amazing bunch at #upGradMumbaMasters @umumba last night after our inaugural @GCLlive win, @Vachier_Lagrave @HarikaDronavali @humpy_koneru @srinathchess 🧡🤗… pic.twitter.com/osQAuzwHun

— Suhail Chandhok (@suhailchandhok) June 23, 2023

You are investing your time and money to push sports in India. As a sports TV presenter and a sports entrepreneur, what do you think can India do to continue on its journey to become a proper sporting nation?

Chandhok: We have to move from being a spectator sport nation to a nation that is actively playing these sports. We cannot call ourselves a sporting nation until the entire nation is playing sports.

When we are born with an innate nature to play. Whether it is with a bat or a ball or a racquet or a box or a doll or a toy car. It is build in us. In India we suppress sports. It is always padhai karo, khelo mat (study, don’t play).  That is something that is changing now. It is evolving. But we got to push that needle a long way.

We can’t hail just one sport and call ourselves a sporting nation.  We got to hail superheroes from other sports who are unsung heroes. Young heroes before they become big names. We have to back a Neeraj Chopra before he wins an Olympic gold. We have to back a Neeraj Chopra who wins a national medal who then needs the support to go and train in Europe. That is when we create an impact and when we start sponsoring children there. That is when we become a sporting nation.

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As Nandan Nilekani donates Rs 315 crore to IIT Bombay, a look at other big corporate donors

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Infosys Co-Founder and Chairman Nandan Nilekani revealed on Tuesday (June 20) that he has donated Rs 315 crore to his alma mater the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, to mark 50 years of his association with the prestigious institution. Nilekani had joined the institute in 1973 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by Professor Subhasis Chaudhuri, IIT Bombay Director, and Nilekani in Bengaluru to formalise the donation.

The latest donation is in addition to the previous contribution of Rs 85 crore made by Nilekani earlier. His total contribution to the institute now stands at Rs 400 crore.

“To mark 50 years of my association with @iitbombay, I am donating Rs 315 crores to my alma mater. I am grateful to be able to do this,” Nilekani wrote on Twitter.

To mark 50 years of my association with @iitbombay, I am donating ₹315 crores to my alma mater. I am grateful to be able to do this🙏

Full release: https://t.co/q6rvuMf2jn pic.twitter.com/f8OEfZ1UTq

— Nandan Nilekani (@NandanNilekani) June 20, 2023

The donation will be used to build world-class infrastructure, nurture a deep tech startup ecosystem and stimulate research in emerging areas of engineering and technology, at IIT Bombay.

Not just Nilekani, but many other corporate leaders have also set an example by donating huge amounts to their alma mater.

Rs 100 crore donation to IIT-Kanpur by Indigo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal

In 2022, Rakesh Gangwal, Co-Founder of IndiGo airlines, and an alumnus of the IIT Kanpur made one of the biggest personal donations the institute has ever received. Gangwal contributed Rs 100 crore towards the institute’s School of Medical Sciences and Technology.

$10 million to IIT Delhi from US-based entrepreneur Anant Yardi

The United States-based entrepreneur Anant Yardi donated $10 million (nearly Rs 82 crore) to his alma mater IIT Delhi in 2021. Yardi is the CEO of Yardi Systems, a California-headquartered software company.

At the time, IIT Delhi director Ramagopal Rao had said that the donation was to be utilised for the School of Artificial Intelligence, which was established a year ago.

$5 million donated to IIT Delhi by Vinod Khosla

Indian-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Vinod Khosla donated $5 million (then nearly Rs 23.2 crore) to his alma mater IIT Delhi in 2003. He is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems.

Then IIT Delhi director R.S. Sirohi said the donation would be used to establish a school of IT for undergraduate and post-graduate students.

Shailesh Mehta gave $3 million to IIT Bombay

Former CEO of Providian Financial Corporation, Dr Shailesh Mehta, and his wife Kalpa Mehta donated about $3 million (approximately Rs 24 crore) to IIT Bombay in 2018 to establish an Executive MBA programme and to help set up the management school, Shailesh J Mehta School of Management (SJMSOM), at the institute.

$1.2 million donation to BITS Pilani by former CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, Rakesh Kapoor

In January, this year, former global CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, Rakesh Kapoor, made a donation of $1.2 million (about Rs 10 crore) to BITS Pilani, marking the largest gift the institution has received in its history.

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As per an official statement, the institute said that the donation would be used to fund the creation of a state-of-the-art Centre of Innovation in its campus.

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Aeravati Ventures launches Rs 100 Cr funds focusing on early stage startups

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Early-stage Venture Capital firm, Aeravti Ventures has announced the first close of its inaugural Rs 100 crore fund, targeting emerging tech startups. The fund will focus on sectors such as Deep-Tech, Deep-Sciences, Biosciences, Agri-Tech, Climate, and Enterprise Tech, primarily at the pre-seed to pre-series A stages, with a specific emphasis on Bharat (India).

Aeravti Ventures plans to deploy the fund’s capital over the next two to two-and-a-half years, with a commitment to providing significant follow-on investments to its portfolio companies, the firm said in a statement.

The firm has already made investments in two promising startups in the DeepTech and SupplyChain sectors, it added.

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Led by General Partners Rishabh Singh and Shubham Jhuria, the team at Aeravti Ventures comprises over 25 Entrepreneur Partners (EPs), consisting of Founders & CXOs from across the globe. These EPs offer portfolio companies access to industry connections, strategic guidance, and technical expertise.

“We aim to support technological innovations being leveraged to build transformative businesses,” Rishabh Singh, Managing Partner at Aeravti Ventures said, adding, “We support businesses that create impact as an inherent function of their operations, having it baked into their business model, rather than as an externality.”

As an investor, Rishabh has worked with deep-tech ventures in Silicon Valley and Southern California through the incubator StartR. After moving to India, he founded Capnetic Consulting Group, an early-stage investment banking and financial advisory firm.

Shubham Jhuria, CFO & Partner at Aeravti Ventures said, “We aim to be more than a mere financial supporter for our portfolio companies, providing a holistic ecosystem to our founders, including clients, industry access, partnerships, operational guidance, and more.”

Jhuria is a chartered accountant with extensive experience in auditing and conducting due diligence of early-stage ventures for funds and family offices. He worked in the corporate strategy team at Udaan before co-founding Capnetic with Rishabh.

“At the stage that we invest, teams are small, technology is rapidly evolving, and business models are dynamic, which leads us to invest in people and not just their businesses,” Jhuria added.

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Mukesh Ambani turns 66: Inspiring quotes by the Reliance Industries Chairman

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of  Reliance Industries — India’s most valuable company — celebrates his 66th birthday today, April 19.

Mukesh Ambani was born on April 19, 1957, in Yemen’s Aden. He later shifted to India and was brought up in Mumbai. Under Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries, the conglomerate founded by his father Dhirubhai Ambani, has become one of India’s most recognisable and respected companies.

Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, holds a degree in chemical engineering. He is a visionary businessman heading a company that has interests in oil and gas, telecom, petrochemicals and retail.

On his 66th birthday, here are some inspiring quotes from Asia’s richest person, as per Forbes.

• “Relationships and trust. This is the bedrock of life.”
• “My view is to give everyone the space to grow in his own way. When you see restructuring or separations in a family firm, value has almost always been destroyed. This is the first case where value has been enhanced. In that way it has been a win-win ending.”
• “Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of self-reliance can be attained by making use of the internet and technology.”
• “I am a big believer that technology shapes mankind.”
• “In the journey of an entrepreneur, the most important thing is self-belief and the ability to convert that belief into reality.”
• “It is important to remember that there are no overnight successes. You will need to be dedicated, single-minded, and there is no substitute for hard work.”
• “Dance to your own music and take some risks in life, because it is often the risk taker who changes the course of history… and contributes to the well-being of millions of lives.”

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Happy Birthday Mukesh Ambani: Know amazing facts about Asia’s richest man

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), turns 66 today, April 19. As Asia’s richest man, he is one of the most influential business leaders in the world.

Born in Yemen in 1957, Mukesh Ambani moved to Mumbai at a young age. Reliance Industries was founded by his father Dhirubhai Ambani in 1966 as a small textile manufacturer. After his father’s death in 2002, Mukesh Ambani and his younger brother Anil divided up the family empire.

Net worth

According to Forbes, Mukesh Ambani’s net worth as of April 18, 2023 was $84.2 billion, making him the 14th richest person in the world. This is largely due to his stake in RIL, which is worth over $104 billion.

Early career

After completing his education, Mukesh Ambani joined his father’s business, Reliance Industries Limited. He played a key role in expanding the company’s operations from textiles to petrochemicals, refining and oil and gas exploration. Today, RIL is one of the largest conglomerates in India, with interests in sectors such as telecommunications, retail, and media.

Philanthropy

Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani are known for their philanthropic work too. They have donated billions of dollars to causes such as education and healthcare.

Home

Mukesh Ambani’s home in Mumbai, Antilia, is one of the most expensive residences in the world. The 27-storey building is valued at over $2 billion and features a range of luxurious amenities, including a ballroom, a spa, and helipads.

Business ventures

In addition to RIL, Mukesh Ambani has been involved in a number of other business ventures. He owns the Mumbai Indians, a franchise team in the Indian Premier League, and has launched Jio, a telecommunications company that has revolutionised the industry in India. Jio offers 4G services at a fraction of the cost of its competitors and has over 400 million subscribers. It is also the leading telecom provider in 5G services, with availability in 2,345 cities or towns across 34 states or Union territories.

Awards

Mukesh Ambani has been ranked among the world’s most famous and reputable CEOs by the Global Brand Guardianship Index 2021. Ambani has received several accolades, including the Iconic Business Leader of the Decade Award in 2020, TIME 100 Most Influential People in 2019, and Businessman of the Year in 2010. He has been recognised as the fifth-best performing CEO in the world by the Harvard Business Review.

Disclaimer: Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com, is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.

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Top Dell exec says women entrepreneurs still face barriers — despite advances

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As we celebrate #FutureFemaleForward, the focus is firmly on women, their empowerment and their solid contribution to the India story. At Tuesday’s CNBC-TV18 ‘Future Female Forward — A Women’s Collective’ event, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani said there’s a lot more that needs to be done in terms of empowering women, a sentiment that was echoed by Swati Mishra, Director, and GM, Small Businesses, Dell Technologies India, in an interview with CNBC-TV18.com.

Dell Technologies recently released its annual WE (Women Entrepreneurs) Cities Index Report, in which Mumbai was ranked among 55 cities surveyed globally. Delhi topped the overall momentum score, while Bengaluru was ranked in the top 10 operating environments for markets.

The cities on this list are ranked on 23 key areas, based on two key pillars — operating and enabling environment, Mishra said. A city’s operating environment score is a measure of markets, talent and capital, and the enabling environment score sums up the impact of culture and technology.

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The first edition of the report was launched in 2016 and since then, it has served as a diagnostic tool for policymakers to create data-driven insights and recommendations, she said.

According to Mishra, there has been huge progress in inclusiveness and collaborative growth in recent years, with significant improvement over the past few years in terms of creating an infrastructure for women-led businesses. “Yet, there are gaps that we need to address to create an environment which is equipped to sustain the growth of women entrepreneurs.”

She said most women face barriers when they are entering the workforce to start a business. “There is an underlying need for women to challenge the limiting beliefs in society and seek validation of innovative ideas. Scaling one’s knowledge quotient, being the change agent, fostering a growth mindset in an operating environment and building an ecosystem of trust are absolute musts for women to grow and thrive,” Mishra explained.

According to Mishra, as per the report, the availability of capital remains one of the biggest pain points in nearly every city.

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“There is a need to reduce gender bias to ensure that women-led businesses also have access to funds and investments. This can be made easier by creating networks and communities that support women in business. Bridging the pay gap and strengthening pay transparency policies are also important ways to ensure that women don’t drop out of the playing field,” she said.

Further, she said, in today’s digital era, technology is very closely linked to and impacts all business pillars and an education gap to effectively navigate through this digital age is another key challenge — the same point was highlighted by Irani on Tuesday (March 14).

Mishra highlighted the factors that helped these two Indian cities score well.

“Delhi benefits from a low cost of living, increasing population, which results in a larger market size, and the availability of educated and skilled labour across genders. Bengaluru has been recognised for its accessibility and inclusive policies for women entrepreneurs — it has been ranked higher than Paris and Washington, D.C. making it a huge feat for India. The city also offers a large market size and affordable costs that can support women entrepreneurs,” she explained.

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Both cities are also placed in the ‘Cities on the Radar’ category of progress, which is a list of 13 cities that have the potential to attract and host more women entrepreneurs, she added.

The role of technology

Mishra said technology serves as a leveller, and high-performing technology sectors present smaller cities with the chance to become the centre of women’s entrepreneurship, surpassing established ones.

“The latest report indicates that technology is directly linked to talent, which has been transformed as a result of remote work. This holds particular significance for women entrepreneurs who frequently juggle multiple roles, as a robust tech infrastructure provides them with the flexibility to run their businesses from anywhere,” she said.

Key factors

“The WE Cities Index provides insights into the different needs of female entrepreneurs and the importance of creating a conducive operating and enabling environment. The research ranks cities based on the impact of market size, local policies, connectivity, technology support, availability of funding, and access to a skilled workforce among several other pillars,” Mishra said.

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Some of the key factors are markets, capital, talent, culture, and technology. The median score of all these factors measures the growth of the city, as per Mishra:

• Markets: The markets category is a measure of the market size of operation, the cost of being profitable, access to customers and finally the policies that create a level playing field for women-owned businesses.
• Talent: This is the likelihood of finding women with the right skillset, training, and experience required to scale the business. It is also the availability of a skilled and educated workforce.
• Capital: This category measures the frequency and value of funding received by women-owned businesses, the capital base they can draw, and how is the environment when compared to the proportion of funding received by men
• Culture: Women entrepreneurs believe that culture is a critical enabler for businesses. This pillar is a measure of the prevalence of mentors and networks to enable growth, the attitude towards women in business, and the policies created to elevate women to assume leadership positions
• Technology: Technology has become critical for the operation of nearly all businesses and is closely linked to all the above-mentioned pillars. The pillar is therefore a measure of global connectivity, the cost of staying connected and the equality in access and education.

Also read: Future Female Forward | 50-60% of trainees hired in last couple of years are women: Nestle India

Dell’s roadmap for women

Mishra said Dell’s vision is to bring about social change and progress through technology. “The increase in women entrepreneurs and their increasing significance in driving the world’s economic growth is remarkable. To support this growth, we have built and sustained a network of female business owners called The Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN), which incorporates the WE Cities Index,” she said.

Founded in 2009, DWEN is a network of women entrepreneurs who receive IT resources, funding, and expert guidance to help them scale their businesses.

“DWEN provides a platform for like-minded women entrepreneurs to exchange ideas and explore opportunities to expand and grow their businesses. As a global network, DWEN supports more than 80,000 members. DWEN has also created entities such as the DWEN Dream Tech contest, DWEN Tech Hub, Empower Hour and Tech Talk series, and the WE Cities Index, among others, which play an important role in the ecosystem’s overall growth. We will continue to work closely with these businesses and enable them with all the technology resources required to thrive in today’s fast-paced environment,” Mishra said.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Budget 2023 | India may announce measures to further strengthen start-up ecosystem

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The government is expected to announce in the forthcoming Budget steps to further strengthen the startup ecosystem in the country and address inverted duty issues in certain sectors to promote domestic manufacturing, official sources said.

Fiscal incentives under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to some more sectors are also likely to be announced in the Budget, which will be presented on February 1.

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Besides, the government may consider providing funds to infrastructure projects approved by the Network Planning Group (NPG), constituted under the PM Gati Shakti initiative, they said.

On October 13 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Gati Shakti – National Master Plan aimed at developing integrated infrastructure to reduce logistics costs.

The NPG has representations from various connectivity infrastructure ministries/ departments involving their heads of network planning division for unified planning and integration of the proposals.

All these departments approach the NPG first for approval before making a DPR (detailed project report) at the planning stage.

Inverted duty structure refers to taxation of inputs at higher rates than finished products that results in build-up of credits and cascading costs.

The government has already taken a series of steps to promote startups in the country. Under the Startup India initiative, Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) scheme, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) are implemented to provide capital at various stages of the business cycle of a startup.

The government launched Startup India initiative in January 2016 with an intent to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and encouraging private investments in the startup ecosystem.

“The commerce and industry ministry has suggested steps to further promote ease of doing business for startups,” one of the sources said.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

‘Silver lining of the startup world’s excesses is that…’ what Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath said

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath is excited that many in India are aspiring to become entrepreneurs now. With more and more people building for India, India, the country will be on the way to becoming a $5 trillion+, Kamath said in reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25.

Kamath expressed that being an entrepreneur is becoming more aspirational amid the huge success of start-ups in the country. Currently, India has about 105 unicorns (start-up companies valued at over $1 billion).

“The silver lining of the startup world’s excesses is that, for the first time in India, there are so many aspiring to be entrepreneurs. Almost like how people want IIT, IIM, Civil Services, etc. More people building for India, in India is the only way we can get to $5 trillion+,” Kamath wrote on LinkedIn.

ALSO READ: Zerodha crosses 1-crore customer base — how Nithin Kamath reacted

Kamath had earlier emphasised that despite the start-up boom making it seem easy to build a business, it is actually a tough job to do. Creating a business with a positive cash flow can only be considered a success, according to Kamath.

“Today entrepreneurs are almost looked at like heroes and everyone wants to be on the other side, it’s important to realise that the other side is really hard,” Kamath recently said in an interview with Moneycontrol.

ALSO READ: Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath has figured why the financial year starts in April

Experts, however, have warned about a funding crunch which can slow down the expansion of start-ups. Indian start-ups must focus on surviving the next 12-18 months as the funding crunch will hit home in early 2023, Flipkart group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said last week during a panel discussion at The Economic Times Start-up Awards.

Venture funding has been hit hard across stages in India and around the world due to several global factors. As per Venture Intelligence, start-ups saw funding of $2.7 billion in the September quarter this year, as against close to $12 billion in the same period last year, Economic Times reported.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Here’s how to get an electric vehicle dealership for a great earning opportunity

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The modern world is fast transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) as environmental concerns mount and fuel prices hit the roof. Following a recent uptick in sales, numerous startups as well as major manufacturers are now expressing interest in the EV industry. India is also experiencing a surge in EV launches, which have caught the public imagination. 

A total of 3.13 lakh units were sold in 2021 across all sectors, according to statistics from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. As per a NITI Aayog report, the country plans to hold 30 percent of the market for electric vehicles by 2030.

Everything related to EVs is considered a good business proposition as the electric market grows in India. This opens the door for dealerships of electric automobiles as potentially lucrative business ventures.

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How to prepare a dealership plan

• Learn which EV segment — car, scooter or bike — and firms are eliciting maximum interest in the market. Depending on demand, the right kind of dealership would be a winning business idea.
• Knowing your target market is a must for every dealer. By identifying the ideal customer, you should design your business around their wants.
• Determine whether there is enough demand for your product using the market research you conducted for the dealership. You need to think about your product’s appeal.

Requisites for EV dealership

• A showroom of around 1,500-2,000 square feet, with at least five service bays, a godown to house the inventory, and enough room for operation.
• Working on the showroom necessitates a competent staff. To get your message across to the public, you might also need to recruit a marketing staff.
• There should be enough funds to cover the cost of hiring staff, paying for electricity and a generator, and other expenses for at least six months.

How to obtain a dealership

• To obtain the dealership brochure, which contains all the information about their agreement and offer, first get in touch with the company’s corporate office. However, information related to this is also available on the official website of the company.

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• Send in your dealership application for electric vehicles as per the information provided by the company. Following that, a corporate representative will get in touch with you and present their plan.
• Read the agreement and all of its sections carefully to understand the terms, the needed investment, and the full disclosure documents. When both you and the company are in agreement, sign the dealership accord and make the required down payment. Use the company’s support and training model to launch your dealership.

Documents required for dealership

• Voter or Aadhaar card.
• Address proof.
• Pan card.
• Documents to prove ownership or rent of space for business.
• Passport size photo.
• Mobile number.
• Email ID.

Also read: Uno Minda eyes double-digit growth in electric vehicles business in 2023 

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow