Management consultant, Jagat Shah, will embark on a 78-day U.S. road trip to spread word on the government’s flagship initiatives such as Digital India, Smart Cities Mission, Skill India and Start Up India.
Mr. Shah said the trip spanning 15,452 km would take him to 24 States and 30 cities in the U.S. and offer him a chance to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for carrying out the longest business road drive.
Mr. Shah said at the Consulate General of the United States in Mumbai that his wife Roopal Shah would be his co-traveller. “This tour is a melange of my hobby and cause. I intend to present the concept of India 3.0 to India’s largest trading partner.” The self-funded journey will start from Boston on May 28 and end in New York on September 17. Mr. Shah has arranged interactions with 178 startups, MSMEs, women entrepreneurs and members of the Indian diaspora. Presentations to UN Women and the World Bank have been planned.
“I am very confident that I will be able to identify start-ups in the U.S. that can work with Indian startups. They can bridge our weakness with their strength in technology and IPR. Indian businesses are interested in investing in U.S. startups if they will do business in India.”
Decoding trade secrets
The Ahmedabad resident hopes to find the reason behind the rise in women entrepreneurship in U.S. and help transfer the know-how to women-centric institutions and policy makers. “Hardly 2% of the Indian women workforce is in business in comparison with the U.S.’s 22%. It is necessary to identify their best practises and implement it here.”
Greg Travis, principal commercial officer of federal commercial service, U.S., said, “Increasing trade between India and U.S. is a win-win situation. However, among American companies, India is not well known. It is a mysterious place. They don’t know how to do or conduct business here. With this initiative, Mr. Shah can explain India to Americans first hand. He has our enthusiastic support.”
Mr. Shah has identified mentors in different districts and cities of America to carry forward his plans. He says the initiative is not for profit. “We’ve divided America through cluster mapping, emphasizing on different sectors. We expect the greatest response from clean tech and Smart Cities,” said Ansh Shah, international operations executive of the mentor on road initiative.
