Energy, agriculture, and education are some of the sectors where the State has opportunities to strengthen its cooperation with Australia, according to Stuart Campbell, Australian Deputy Consul General to south India.
Speaking at the inaugural of TiE Con, a conference organised here on Saturday by TiE Coimbatore, Mr. Campbell said that Tamil Nadu is a priority State for Australia. The diverse economy, energy projects and innovations in infrastructure offer opportunities for cooperation. Financial services and manufacturing are other areas where Tamil Nadu can engage more with Australia.
In Coimbatore, advanced manufacturing units, services, agricultural businesses and educational institutions have collaborations with Australia.
The Australian Government is now keen on two-way student exchange programme and is putting in place a “New Colombo Plan”. This will give Australian university students an opportunity to study in Asian universities and take up internships with companies in the host countries.
Serial entrepreneur Ganesh Krishnan, who is also the founder of Tutor Vista Global, said that entrepreneurs should look at building businesses in the current set-up, though there are several challenges. They should look at ventures in larger sectors. For niche areas, they need to have the domain expertise. About 50 cities in the country have a population of 10 lakh or more. India has a huge market and this is an opportunity for businesses. Entrepreneurs should address the needs of the customers and build “disruptive” models of business. Portea Medical, which offers healthcare home services, will launch its service in Coimbatore next month, he said.
K.T. Srinivasan Raja, managing director of Adyar Anandha Bhavan, said it has 75 branches in India and other countries and is working towards attracting more customers in the age group of 10 to 30. It is also plans to expand its network of branches.
According to R. Anusha, president of TiE Coimbatore, the chapter has 100 members and focuses on several industrial and service sectors. J. Jayanthra, conference chair, said that TiE Coimbatore was started in 2010 and this is its first TiE Con.
