COVID-19 has unleashed havoc on the world economies forcing companies to down their shutters, creating job crises, and leaving new entrepreneurs in a fix. The uncertainty has left many – small, mid, and large – businesses struggling to survive and with bad loans.
This comes a year after India was riding a high wave in entrepreneurial activity. As per a Latona’s report from 2019, India ranked second, next only to Chile, on a list as that ranked countries that are most sought-after for doing business.
While the pandemic has unleashed many challenges for businesses, it has also thrown open avenues for innovation. Many businesses used their creativity to respond to demand and need to be brought about by the pandemic.
Indian companies have also responded with agility. From manufacturing and selling face masks and sanitizers, to selling groceries and essentials, to improving sales of online courses, companies have found ways to stay relevant and cater to public need during these testing times. Can this prove to be India’s opportunity to shed its image of being a country with risk-averse people?
SLX and its community Mastering India weave real-life experiences that enable people to learn about the real India – the culture, how local businesses work and scale-up, the ease of doing business, travel, food, and the way of life. Such experiences help people shed their stereotypes about India. They unlearn and learn about the new India that is growing every minute offering vast opportunities for doing business in India.
Despite being on a track of rapid development, India is stereotyped as an under-developed country. The huge strides that India has taken in the last few decades have opened newer avenues for the growth of businesses in India.
The best way to learn about India and its unwavering entrepreneurial spirit is by visiting the country. The annual Bootcamp by SLX Learning is a study tour tailored just to do that – get people to see India through their own eyes. Our Bootcamp program for 2020 has been stalled because of COVID-19, but learning about India doesn’t need to stop. Our community, Mastering India, brings to you glimpses from India so you learn more about this emerging market. Watch our videos to experience our study tour in India.
This video, for example, gives you a glimpse of what Swiss students learned about entrepreneurship in India and the outlook of Indians. Their opinions were shaped after they spent two weeks in an SLX Bootcamp in the heart of India’s business hubs – Mumbai and Bengaluru.
From Failure to Growth
In the words of Vikram Gupta, founder of IvyCap Ventures, India sees a 90-97% failure rate in business ventures but people who fail, come back with newer ideas and experience. “Failure doesn’t necessarily happen because of the demand-supply gap but also issues in leadership skills and team management. Many failures have led to the next phase success because people gain experience and learn what not to do,” says Vikram.
Mastering India has a repository of insights from India’s entrepreneurs like Vikram Gupta, who is famous in India and abroad alike. Visit our Mastering India hub to know more about doing business in India.
Policies and Culture in India
Talking about how government policies have helped businesses in India in the last few years, Vikram says, “In India, the fear of failure boils down to a lack of funding. However, things have been picking up in the last two-three years with the government allocating money,” he says. The boom in digital infrastructure and vast opportunities across sectors have helped enable a more favorable environment for setting up businesses.
However, like all cultures and countries, India’s image is also burdened with preconceived notions that people have about the country. You may want to watch our video on the Punctuality myth.
India has to date produced 61 unicorns – startups with a valuation of $1 billion – of which 40 are headquartered in the USA and 21 are businesses based in India.
We interviewed one of India’s top influencers Mohandas Pai, who says, “India, along with China, will have 30-35% of the global GDP share by 2050. With a median age of 28, India has one of the youngest populations across the globe. Combine the population factor combined with education and technology – we have a booming IT industry.” Watch more of the video here.
Indian Trade – A History
Much before the colonial rule pillaged India of its riches and wealth – an estimated amount of $45 trillion – it had a thriving trade with South East Asia and the Arabs. Spices and fabrics from India accounted for most of India’s maritime trade in those days. Since this was much before routes like Silk Route came into being, trade was done by Indian sea merchants. A 200-year-old Tamil literature in India says that merchants went far and wide to Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and brought back Roman coins and Roman wine.
After Independence from the British Rule, India was put on a path of poverty with its riches gone. Today’s India is growing and is in the middle of a digital revolution.
Diversity Translates to Opportunities
India is driving economic growth with innovation in models that suit different echelons of the Indian population. India is a great incubator space for ideas and there is a potential to emulate them globally.
Narayana Healthcare, a leading healthcare provider in India, had helped launch micro health insurance with the government of Karnataka for underprivileged farmers. Over a million poor farmers have benefited from surgeries and heart operations under the scheme. All this has been done with individual contributions from the farmer community, and not under charity.
You can watch our interview with the man who started Narayana Healthcare, Dr. Devi Shetty, also known as the Henry Ford of cardiac surgery to get a better idea.
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India offers a huge marketplace for growth of such ideas across sectors, and being a developing country, it offers more scope for doing businesses than a developed country would offer.
No literature can do justice in explaining India and the wide platter of opportunities it offers. To traverse through the vast population and diverse nature of India, Mastering India has customized courses on business opportunities, entrepreneurship, and growth in India, food, culture, and travel in India. All you would need to do is Sign up for our courses here to learn about India, and how you can take your business to the next level.