Indian Entrepreneur Community Has Already Become Globally Recognised: Abhinav Dwivedi, Founder & MD, Progressive Financial Ventures
India is known as a nation of entrepreneurs. It is home to millions of start-ups providing innovative solutions across sectors. While the Indian start-up success story is globally recognised, what is missing though are Indian entrepreneurs who have dared to take this Indian entrepreneurial spirit beyond the country’s borders. Undoubtedly, there are some, but the numbers are scant.
Abhinav Dwivedi, Founder and Managing Director, Progressive Financial Ventures, is amongst the few Indian entrepreneurs who have taken their entrepreneur story to a global stage.
His company Progressive Financial Ventures is a leading service provider to top banks in Canada. In an interview with BW Disrupt, Dwivedi spoke about his journey and why the Indian entrepreneur needs to increase his risk-taking appetite.
Excerpts:
Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey and your venture Progressive Financial Ventures?
I hold a degree in textile engineering which I finished in 1995. Soon after I started working in India for one and a half years and then moved to Dubai. In 2003 I moved to Canada and started looking for something that could help me create one more source of income, apart from the job which I had. It all began with trading as I was looking at something which I could use as a cash cow at the end of the month. This was also the genesis of my start-up--Progressive Financial Ventures.
What kind of challenges did you overcome in your journey of entrepreneurship?
There were hardships on the way, especially in the first year of the business, but soon it started to get traction and I realised that I don't have to create the revenue myself and I can teach people how to create it and that is what took me globally. This is what finally led to the opening of my venture-- Progressive Financial Ventures. The next level came in the summer of 2014 and now we are providing services to some top banks of Canada.
Indian entrepreneurs are celebrated for their innovation and yet we see very few Indian entrepreneurs on the international scene, what is the reason behind this?
It all comes down to the risk-taking capability. Every bird in its nest is very comfortable. It’s about coming out and leaving what you currently have. So it all comes down to the comfort of taking that risk, and if you have to ask what brings that comfort, well it is knowledge alone that does it.
It's the hesitation for change, which I had too, but I took the leap of faith from India to Dubai and then from Dubai to Canada, it could have gone wrong, but that is what entrepreneurship is all about.
As an Indian entrepreneur at the global stage, in your opinion how can the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem evolve to the next level?
Indian entrepreneur community has already become globally recognised, we should now provide products and services in foreign countries rather than make it available from here. I think there should also be more face-to-face interaction because that gives them confidence and credibility to the good work that we are already doing. As already stated, we are fortunate to have the goodwill of global businesses on our side.
