The three-day congregation of entrepreneurs from different parts of the world at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) came to an end in Hyderabad on Friday.
Here are the updates:
The closing plenary session was moderated by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant .
The panelists were Mark Green, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator; Dipali Goenka , CEO & Joint Managing Director of Welspun India; Kristina Davison , Co-Founder & Managing Partner of iEurope Capital LLC; Lerato Motsamai , PETROLINK Founder & CEO; and Manish Sabharwal , Chairman, TeamLease.
''This is the time for women entrepreneurs. When they rise, we all rise,'' says Mr. Green.
Ms. Motsamai says, ''Women don't build businesses, they build nations.'' Many of the women are not seen as a role model because of the community they come from, she points out while highlighting the role of culture in nourishing women entrepreneurship.
Ms. Davison says women should be encouraged not because they are women but because they have a great idea.
Mr. Sabharwal says India has a wages problem. People do not get the wages they expect. ''About half of India is self-employed. This is actually self-exploitation. What we need to give thrust to human capital. We have to formalise our labour force. This is increase the participation of women in labour. Formalise, urbanise, industrialise and human capital.''
Ms. Goenka narrates how the girls in Welspun have inspired other girl children to go to school. India will be a very different country if the gender gap in workplace is filled.
The USAID has launched a health-impact bond to reduce maternal and neo-natal deaths in Rajasthan by improving the quality of services at private healthcare facilities. Mr. Green says it is a public-private partnership and size of the bond will be a minimum of $2.25 million.
The GES witnessed an all-woman panel discussion on innovations in Artifical Intelligence. The participants were Lorraine Martin, Elizabeth Gore of intelligent business advisor Alice, Shubha Nabar and Nivruti of Intel India.
A talk was organised between Shashi Shekhar Vempati, CEO OF Prasar Bharati; Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Piyush Pandey ; and Teresa Nelson Carpenter, CEO of Reel Muzik Werks LLC.
Mr. Vempati spoke about how new platforms are important to engage and connect with youth.
Mr. Pandey said, "Social media cannot help you build a brand overnight. But it is important for us to be on new media, and quickly respond to posts. For social media, don’t be trigger happy. One has to think before they post. One post could damage a brand that has been there for years.When we launched 'Ab ki baar Modi sarkar', we pitched this idea of doing it with animation. We mould it, crafted it and stayed the course."
Mr. Carpenter said, "Patience and consistency, and really know your brand."
Entrepreneurs pitched their start-ups to the panel of judges and described their works towards bringing a change in various fields.
Panelists discussed whether cities can be made sustainable, and what threats and opportunities are available as cities become smarter and get on the digital grid. Anjana Menon, Founder & CEO of Content Pixies, moderated the panel with Mr. Amitabh Kant; Amory Lovins, Co-Founder & Chief Scientist from Rocky Mountain Institute; and Priyanka Bakaya, Founder & CEO of Renewlogy.
Mr. Lovins discussed the world's progress toward a low-carbon economy & energy security.
"Each entrepreneur at GES 2017 is trying to find solutions to their country's problems. This entrepreneurial spirit will take us forward," said Mr. Kant.
