The Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES-2017) in Hyderabad on its second day on Wednesday witnessed various programmes.
The gathering of hundreds of budding, ambitious and well-known entrepreneurs as well as investors and supporters of the start-up eco-system at the eighth edition of the GES, which is coming for the first time to South Asia, is unique, as serves as a forum to celebrate and nurture entrepreneurship and provide opportunities to network. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with United States President Donald Trump’s Adviser Ivanka Trump, inaugurated the event on Tuesday.
Here are Wednesday's updates:
“It is my duty to give back [to society],” Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar tells Ronnie Screwvala during a “fireside chat” with women entrepreneurs.
Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar speaks to Ronnie Screwvala at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad on November 29, 2017. Photo: @GES2017
“You don't need to be Miss World to make a difference,” she says. “Both men and women have to be treated equally, and men have to realise that. We have every reason to follow our dreams and be happy.”
“I believe that women need to be part of the entrepreneurship ecosystem to enable prosperity of the society,” she says.
Ten start-ups, five of them from Hyderabad, have won an-all-expense-paid trip to San Francisco under the UberEXCHANGE programme. Taxi hailing firm Uber, which had partnered T-Hub incubator for the selection process, announced the finalists of the UberEXCHANGE at the GES. Read more.
This is a panel on providing energy solutions to communities that live off the grid. The panelists are Harish Hande, CEO of SELCO Foundation; Piyush Mathur, CEO of Simpa Energy; Ravi Kailas, chairman of Mytrah Energy; and Sara Vakhshouri, president of SVB Energy International.
Budding entrepreneurs pitched their start-up ideas to experts and venture capitalists. The businesses ranged from clean energy to women-focused developmental products.
The Business of Winning at Sports Entrepreneurship
Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle moderated panelists who spoke about sports tech startups.
Following are observations of the panelists:
Chief National Coach of Indian Badminton team P. Gopichand : ''The beginning is always tough but one has to keep pushing themselves and their boundaries. Today, the number of people playing sports has increased. We don't have our education system mature enough. Sport is primarily local. We need to celebrate our local players. Sports diplomacy, sports entrepreneurs, sports physiotherapists, sports administration, all of them need to be looked at. We need to celebrate sports by itself. Not the champions. Everyone who plays the sport is a champion. If global sport was everything, then we can't run a 100-metre run. Sports needs to be played, it is beyond winning.''
Mithali Raj, caption of Indian Women's cricket team and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle talk about the business of winning at sports entrepreneurship.
Tennis star Sania Mirza : ''We don't need Bollywood to make the sport popular. Mary Kom did become popular after the movie. But we don't need another channel to showcase sports. While wrapping it in the golden wrapper of a film might help, we need to love sport for India to become a sporting nation.''
Chatri Sityodtong, ONE Championship, Chairman and CEO : ''When we tell a story around the sportsperson and put on a little bit of a wow-factor through media, it glorifies them. Storytelling is everything in sports.''
Mithali Raj, Indian Women's Cricket Team Captain : ''We need to ensure good facilities & infrastructure so that all girls get a chance to channel their sporting abilities.''
Ritu Verma, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Ankur Capital , moderated 'AgriTech Matters' with three panelists (names given below) discussing how technologies help communities to farm strategically and improve yields while using fewer resources.
- Ramana Gogula , Stanley Black & Decker, Vice President for Clean Technologies
- Sivakumar Surampudi, ITC, Group Head - Agri & IT Businesses
- Maxim Pasik , WaterGen, Executive Chairman
At the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Catalyst Pitch Competition, entrepreneurs from all over the world pitched their ideas.
1. Roger Zoundi , a data driven entrepreneur from Scoring Card, pitched his P-to-P system to let women access loans and credit capital.
2. Meredith Peng from the United States introduced 'Humanitree'.
3. Jainesh Sinha introduced 'GyanDhan' and spoke about limited lending.
4. Evelyn Kaingu , founder of Lupia from Zambia, explained about her platform to help finance the women living in remote localities.
5. Vivek Kumar from the U.S. talked about Qlicket, which helps companies on customer retention.
6. Sourabh Raj pitched about his business of 3,500 digital runners that are operational in more than 3,000 villages.
US president's Advisor Ivanka Trump at the GIST (Global Innovation Through S&T) Pitch Competition for start-ups at GES 2017.
Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao moderated a discussion on ‘We can do it — Innovation in Work Force Development and Skills Training’ on boosting women's participation in the workforce.
Day-1 of Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017: Telangana Industries & IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao moderates a panel discussion.
Ivanka Trump said: ''Public policy is incredibly important to support women entrepreneurs. Technology offers tremendous opportunity for women entrepreneurs.
''Having equal representation and diversity is financially beneficial to business. Balance the gender gap in labour force is not just a social responsibility but also a fiscal responsibility.
''We need to align what's being taught in the classroom to the economy students will graduate into. There's a lack of women in STEM fields and are underpaid too. We need to get more women into STEM fields.''
Cherie Blair of the Foundation for Women: ''Men need to understand difficulties faced by women. We've helped Indian women get skills and break barriers. Give women access to technology. We have to find solutions so women can do better at what they do without giving up on their enterprises. Capacity, confidence, capital — the three things women entrepreneurs need to flourish. It's all about choice and diversity. It's about respecting each other's choices.
Karen Quintos, CCO of Dell EMC, Cherie Blair, founder and CBE of Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao, Ivanka Trump, adviser to the U.S. President and Chanda Kochhar, managing director and CEO, ICICI Bank, at the GES 2017, in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Chanda Kochhar, CEO of ICICI Bank: ''One lakh youth were trained under the ICICI's skill training initiative, 55% of them were women. You educate a man, you educate an individual. When you educate a woman, you educate a generation. 3Es — Education, Encouragement & Empowerment matter most for women.
''It's the desire, support & ecosystem of the organisation where women work that will help them break the glass ceiling. Recognition of work keeps us going. India's economic structure is changing, it is now becoming an entrepreneurship economy.
''It's India that has produced women in sports like wrestling and gymnastics, that were mostly meant for men. India has women fighter pilots, Indian Navy has started an all women expedition. Today India has a Defence Minister who is a lady. India has senior ministers who are ladies. India is the only country where 40% of the banking sector is headed by women.''
Karen Quintos, CCO of Dell EMC: ''Biases that exist in society have to be addressed, and men need to be a part of that conversation. Business outcomes are great when you have diverse thinking. I'd encourage all to change the trajectory; the world is a better place when we come together with a common vision.''
Here are the updates of the first day of GES:
(With inputs from Telangana Bureau)
