Confluence – Day 2 – A Summary
The second day of Confluence 2012 – the International Business Summit of IIM Ahmedabad, saw a whole gamut of speaker sessions, events and workshops. With a theme that seeks to explore the role that the leaders of tomorrow can play in helping the country tide the tough times, Confluence today, had a two speaker sessions on The Global Economic Turmoil and its after effects, and ‘The Next Step – Entrepreneurship’.
Global Economic Turmoil
The thought-provoking session on “The Global Economic Turmoil” saw many an inquisitive mind sit back and ponder over the most challenging issues faced by the world today. The crowd at RJM discussed with great interest a whole range of topics- ranging from the twists and turns in the financial industry, the gloomy forecasts for many nations to the challenges of financial inclusion.
Mr. M.V.Tanksale, the Chairman & Managing Director of the Central Bank of India outlined his take on the key growth drivers in India. He stressed upon the pressing need for innovation in the banking sector to cater to a variety of customers and business models. Tanksale reiterated: “The country faces numerous challenges in the form of poor productivity of the agricultural sector despite being infused with a substantial amount of funds, the rising trade deficit due to import-export mismatch and the scarcity of capital investment for new businesses.” In Mr. Tanksale’s words, “Money will flow to India, it has to - but we must showcase our political and economic stability and a clear plan for our future”.
Drawing great hope from the exemplary performance of states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, he stressed upon the immense opportunity that lies in areas like infrastructure and greater support to MSME’s. He promised the complete support of banking institutions to the enthusiastic young entrepreneurs who wished to put their skills to action.
Patrick Foulis of ‘The Economist’ delivered an engaging talk about the world of finance, journalism and the current turmoil. He recounted his early experiences with financial institutions, notably a banker who told him - “Trust me, we will not take a dime from you”. That very bank had to be bailed out by the US government soon after that. He gave a macro view of the current turmoil, deducing how recent events like shale gas in the US and infrastructural growth in China would affect the global economy. He urged students to take a deeper view while deciding on a career, referring to banking as a ‘compensation scheme disguised as an industry’. Mr Foulis exhorted the student to look inwards and said: “In your last placement report, there were 187 people who went into finance and consulting. I will be delighted even if the next batch here (IIMA), produces 185 consultants and investment bankers, but results in at least one journalist or a singer.”
Taking the next step - Entrepreneurship
The stimulating and enjoyable session on Entrepreneurship the receptive audience catching on to every tip that the entrepreneurs and the venture capitalist had to share with them regarding treading the path less taken. The crowd at RJM was enraptured as every speaker urged them to take the plunge into Entrepreneurship immediately before they got bogged down by other commitments and increased risks.
Padma Shri Brigadier Arvind Lal, the MD of Dr. Lal PathLabs narrated his story of taking his venture from an organisation that served 30 people a day, to one that serves over 30000 people a day. Mr Lal highlighted the difference in the Indian & the western cultures while encouraging more students to take risks: “It is OK to fail sometimes. With every failure there is learning. We Indians, as a race, do not want to fail. And as a result we end up doing nothing. This is in stark contrast to the westerners who are not afraid to fail.” Mr Lal concluded with his mantra, a modification of IMA Dehradun’s success mantra: “The safety, honour and welfare of your company comes first, always and every time. The safety, honour and welfare of the men you command comes next, always and every time. The safety, honour and welfare of yourself comes last, always and every time.”
Chris Guillebeau, an international bestselling author of the ‘$100 Startup’ and ‘The Art of Non-Conformity’ highlighted the experiences that entrepreneurs had shared with him during his journeys to over 175 countries. Chris spoke about the importance of defining for oneself what success looks like. Chris concluded by saying: “Value to me, means helping people. It means making the world a better place, even if it is for a small group of people.”
Mahesh Murthy, co-founder of SeedFund delved into the characteristics that define entrepreneurs and the need for change in today’s generation. Mr Murthy pointed out: “No entrepreneur judges their self-worth by a matrix that someone else defines. Please don’t try to conform. You really cannot base your future on what others tell you”. He stressed the criticality of being Trendsetters and not trend followers; and ensuring that life has meaning and not allowing it to be a mindless drift.
Events
The day saw a multitude of events across all spheres of management. Confluence 2012 organised 22 events across the finance, marketing, strategy, policy etc. which saw a participation of over 15000 students from over 370 colleges across India.
Synergy – a first time and one-of-a-kind event across India aimed at promoting Technological innovations from engineering colleges was conducted today. It started with a workshop by Prof Sunil Handa, who is renowned across India for helping startups scale and Prof Prakash Bagri who spoke about High-technology Entrepreneurship: Changing Paradigms. The event brings together innovators and mentors from CIIE and IIMA who help the innovators commercialise their idea and make it the next big thing.
‘Campaign for a cause’ saw participants from colleges across the country who made videos highlighting key issues plaguing the country, and their solutions for the same. The judge for the event was Mrs. Mallika Sarabhai, the renowned social activist and classical dancer, who is incidentally an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad. The key issues that the participants chose to highlight included ‘Khap Panchayats: Plaguing the current Panchayati Raj system’, ‘India’s Environment Protection Laws: Cobras without venom’, ‘The plight of the Matsyagandha inland fisheries’ etc.
A novel event, ‘Beyond the case’ saw teams setup stalls in Ahmedabad’s Himalaya mall and sell products to the public and develop their own selling strategies. The innovative format of the event enthused both participants and the onlookers at the venue.
Workshops
Confluence, today, also organised a wide variety of workshops by the professors of IIMA on topics such as Hi-Tech and Innovation Marketing, Enterprise Resource Planning and Marketing. These workshops saw record participation from across the country, and gave an opportunity for students to learn from the very best professors at IIM Ahmedabad.
Sunday: The Culmination of Confluence
Sunday will mark the last day of Confluence, where the summit will seek to draw inspiration from a diverse set of people including Viren Rasquinha, former India Hockey Captain and CEO of Olympic Gold Quest, Amish Tripathi – a bestselling author and Yogender Singh Yadav, a Kargil War Hero and a Param Vir Chakra awardee. Confluence will conclude with the flagship business quiz – Bizquizzitive, which promises prize money of INR 1 Lakh!
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