Saturday, 29 September 2012

National Policy for Entrepreneurship Needed To Provide Impetus Entrepreneurs, industry stalwarts, celebrities discuss policy,
Social entrepreneurship, healthcare and education to play key role in development

New Delhi, Sept 29: A National Policy for Entrepreneurship that covers key areas like Access to Capital, Scalability and involvement of State Governments is needed to create 30-40 million jobs.  This was discussed at TiEcon Delhi 2012, by panel on National Policy of Entrepreneurship which being drafted by the government.

“Having innovative ideas is the first step which needs to be followed by support including capital support”, said Arun Maira, Member, Planning Commission. “The other key aspect is that of scaling up. We don’t collaborate very well among each other, we get too stuck on our ideologies and very often don’t see eye to eye. That comes in the way of scaling up,” he added.

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who is also a member of National Innovation Council, called entrepreneurship an act of chaos, which arises out of a dream. People who fund entrepreneurs work with structures, and this gives rise to a conflict. “We are slaves to keywords such as Innovation, Capital Structures, and Scalability. A dream is not a structure. So an entrepreneur spends his time fighting his way through the structure,” he said.

Dr Saurabh Srivastava, Chairman Emeritus, The Indus Entrepreneurs Delhi NCR chapter reiterated the need for having a National Entrepreneurship Policy in place, especially as it has the potential to create 30-40 million jobs and revenues over Rs 200 billion. Encouraging entrepreneurship in 3-4 key sectors can catapult their growth aka the IT sector.

Social Entrepreneurship, which is catching the fancy of youth across the world, is challenged by lack of capital as the regular funding mechanisms like venture capital or angel investments do not work successfully. Social ventures are harder to predict, monitor and measure impact, said Professor Robert Gertner, Deputy Dean of University of Chicago Booth School of Business, speaking at session on social entrepreneurship.

The panel on Education and Skill Development chaired by Sandeep Sinha, Managing Partner, Lumis Partners, said that this industry has enormous opportunities and entrepreneurs need to get their ideas into action and run them sustainably.

“There is money to be made in this segment. Those who can manage the aspiration of the individual will be able to crack it,” Dilip Chenoy, CEO & MD, National Skills Development Corporation, emphasizing the need for handholding people through placements. “Lack of teachers and trainers is a challenge. But entrepreneurs must see the problem as an opportunity,” he said.

Harsh Chitale, CEO, HCL Infosystems, said this segment may not be amenable to rapid scaling. “The key challenge is the ability to scale profitably,” he said. “The value proposition of an enterprise in the segment is not about training individuals. It is being able to give customers the right people who are fully trained and productive from the day one,” Chitale said.

The panel discussion on Affordable Healthcare, chaired by Jasjit Mangat, Omidyar Network, showcased some of the innovative approaches taken by entrepreneurs to reach out to communities across India. It also discussed how the high-end healthcare players are making top-of-the-line healthcare affordable for those who cannot go abroad for treatment.
Amit Jain, CEO eHealthPoint, talked about the company’s operations in Punjab villages. “We run primary healthcare centres in villages that have population from 4,000 to 10,000 people. We provide tele-medical consultations, on-site diagnostic tests, generic drugs at low rates, and clean drinking water through these centres. These villagers now have access to accurate diagnosis and treatment.”

Ajay Bakshi, CEO, Max Healthcare, pointed out the need for disruptive healthcare technologies in India, as he fears that the healthcare system in India is moving towards the same expensive system that the US is now reeling under. “Don’t look at Max, GE, Philips and say this is what Indian healthcare is going to be. It’s an open field and you need to get innovative.”

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