I know I’m late on this post (Sorry Sheel), but I suffered 1 all-nighter and 1-near-all-nighter this week trying to catch up on school work from going to conferences two weeks in a row (Indian business conference and a design management institute seminar)
Interesting lectures/panels at the Indian Business conference:
Professor Jagdish Bhagwati (opening keynote).
Prof. Bhagwati is an extremely intelligent man, which came through in his keynote. Listening to his speech made me want to hop on Amazon and buy his book, In Defense of Globalization”. Not right now though, I have a huge backlog of interesting books to read.
* Since 1991, poverty has been in decline in India, and more and more people are finding gainful employment.
* The problem is not increasing poverty, but the vast differences in wealth distribution between urban and rural populations.
* Yes, India is “behind” China– it’s easy to put aside any debate, *but* India’s growth is more sustainable because India does not have an authoritarian government. China has less NGO support, lacks a free press, and is more prone to political instability. India/China SEZ’s comparable.
Opening Panel:
Prof. Joseph Stiglitz
* Past not as rosy as Bhagwati might suggest, but hopefully future is. Stiglitz uses malnourishment data instead of poverty data– argues that it is a higher predictor of public welfare, and much more measurable.
* 3 major points emerged:
-> How to include *rural* India into mainstream economy?
-> How to encourage investment in infrastructure? Telecom is figured out/ How can “Power” be solved for? Education/Health comes next.
-> Entrepreneurship is unarguably the most powerful force for growth in India. Private sector in India has enjoyed prosperity since 1991. This needs to continue.
India’s major source of power is the energy and intellectual capital of its youth.
Ron Somers, President of the US-India Business council
-> India is #1 in milk production in the world. #2 in production of fruits/vegetables (but 40% of this product is lost before it gets to market)….Is it just me, or is that number ridiculously outrageous?!?
-> Farmer suicides are a major problem in India
-> Rise of Indian entrepreneurship is a major source of Indian national pride — Tata/Mittal.
-> Novellus/Hindalco: largest aluminum producer in the world, from India.
-> Also expounded on the theme of inclusivity of rural populations to contribute to engine of economic growth.
-> Problems he mentioned: Chennai & Hyderabad- acute water shortage // By 2020, 20% of India’s population will live within urban areas, so more water is needed.
-> This one is hard to believe– By 2010, there is a risk of a human resource shortage!!! (So many MNCs are looking for labor in India– that there will be a lack of educated workers available). Imagine that: Soon to be the most populous country in the world, suffering a human resource shortage.
Frank Wisner:
-> Politics are key: Indian American relations are the sine qua non that uphold business progress, and power the economic engine of India.
-> It’s vital to reduce trade barriers and open doors in science/technology
Private sector needs to invest in skill development and encourage the growth of micro-entrepreneurs.
India progresses because civil society works in unison with 110 NGOs.
Entrepreneurship Panel:
The guy who I found most interesting from the entrepreneurship panel was a man named Iqbal Qadir from Grameen Phone. His folksy tone and humor made everyone laugh, but it was evident he was extremely brilliant.
* Trends in entrepreneurship *
-> Decentralized technologies — enabler
-> Entrepreneurs need to have a long term perspective, you *cannot* go to India to seek cost arbitrage alone
-> You can’t think of the impediments in India as impediments. They *are* the opportunities themselves.
Challenges:
-> If you want to hire people in India, you will look far and wide but it will be *very* hard to find heads of human resources there.
-> Training is very tough (transitory work force)
-> Managers in India are few and far between. The good managers are costly (70% of American wages. Wow!)
Sanjiv Ahuja, CEO of Orange Telecom spoke about building a global brand
-8.5% GDP growth / 2nd fastest growing in world / 4th largest economy by PPP terms
-> Strongest correlation to GDP growth that Orange found: cell phone access.
-> In Botswana, HIV education is disseminated using the cell phone. Using these learnings, Orange has sought to bring valuable health information to the developed market. They are using cell phone technology to alert the families of Alzheimer’s patients that the person has left a control range.
Unprecedented Connectivity is an ENABLER: Why can’t India be host to the next wave of imaginative companies– Pixar, or Disney??
Brands capture identity -> and deliver consistently on that promise. Now is a seminal time for Indian companies and Indian business leaders to emphasize Indian identity in their brands.
It’s vital to promote India and the “promise of the future” now, more than ever.
Ahuja uses data from 11 customer touchpoints that he monitors WEEKLY to ensure that his brand experience is uniform, differentiated, and superb from the customer’s perspective.
(talk about user-centered design!!)
–
One of my favorite lectures was the winner of the SABA young leaders awards, Vikram Akula, of SKS Microfinance.
-> Noticed that MFI didn’t scale, and wanted to change this.
-> Major constraints to MFI adoption: Capital/Capacity/Costs
-> SKS microfinance started out with the hope of matching McDonalds/Coke/Starbucks business models: highlighting a scalable/standardized distribution process
Unfortunately, I didn’t take too many notes during Akula’s talk, I was captivated by the pictures in his slideshow and the potential. One little criticism, it seemed like a very…”management consulting” slideshow, chock full of data unaccessible to the layperson. It was inspiring when Akula set aside his slides and showed some props– his vision for the new remittance model with MFI credit cards… and the current state problems (traditional MFI payment schedules on a large fold out sheet of paper).
—
Session on Private Equity.
I had also attended a session on Private equity in India, but I didn’t take tons of notes during this session. The speakers weren’t as dynamic as earlier in the day, but still knowledgable.
-> Markets for sustainable energy in India are increasing rapidly
-> Average turn-around-times for ports in India is currently 3-4 days. Hong Kong is currently 10 hours– India still has a long way to go.
PE gurus currently following:
-> infrastructure: especially POWER!!
-> consumer demand
-> high tech / advantages of Indian Science/technology
Problems affecting PE in India:
-> Lack of middle management
-> Regulatory (enforcement/policy)
-> Skyrocketing valuations
–
Closing Keynote given by Dr. Shashi Tharoor (fmr Undersecretary General of the United Nations).
Shashi talked about “soft power”– He didn’t coin it, he borrowed the theme from Joseph Nye.
I’d write notes about his lecture, which I thought was EXTREMELY interesting, but when I came home from the conference, I googled his name and “soft power” and I immediately find the text of his lecture, almost verbatim.
Here it is: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/OPINION/Columnists/Shashi_Tharoor/Making_the_most_of_Indias_soft_power/articleshow/1568428.cms
If you’re Indian, read it. You’ll enjoy it.
0 Responses to “Columbia Indian Business Conference Notes”