Speed & Connectivity Will Change Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Around The World

When Manisha Raisinghani, CTO & Co-Founder of LogiNext was working in New York, she wanted to send her mother a small token on Diwali. The shipment got delayed and could not reach her mother on time as scheduled. Disappointed Raisinghani couldn’t help but think of a solution to this problem. Together with her co-founder, she founded a logistics business solution that could deliver products without delay.

“While many logistics companies are making losses because of very high logistics cost, uncertainties and lack of high speed technology, most developed nations have spent billions in technology to facilitate an organised logistics venture, unlike the emerging economies like India. We thought of a solution in IoT and big data to optimise delivery networks, internal operations and other logistics services where technology could enable fast delivery of products,” she says.

“Technology is responsible for the growth of my business. Timely access to technology makes the customer experience seamless and give cost-effective solutions,” adds Raisinghani, who was part of a discussion held at the ThinkBig 2017, Asia’s largest women entrepreneurship and economic empowerment platform.

Taking technology as an enabler in business of various sectors – from the tools to stay connected, to translate languages and using technology to provide lesson plans for entrepreneurs in villages, technology plays a crucial part to scale up a business.
 
Ritesh Mehta, Head of Economic Growth Initiatives, India & South Asia, Facebook, feels technology is a critical tool and a key enabler for success. “With speed and connectivity, it has enabled people to connect to entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world. Technology helped change the idea of venturing into a business, especially for MSMEs and SMEs, where the new-age and small scale enterprises have emerged as key players by communicating about their products to a larger online audience and in turn they have been benefitted by producing ordered goods at a larger scale.”

Shweta Rajpal Kohli, Head, Public Policy, India & South Asia - ?Uber, shared how a small idea like Uber transformed many lives in a big way. “The new-age technology has impacted and transformed the way we used to live. In India, drivers are using smart phones, thus, enabling millions of riders to access technology, giving jobs and recreating opportunities for better economic productivity.”

Abhishek Mathur, Chief Procurement Manager, India and South Asia, IBM felt that technology, in order to run a smooth business transaction, is critical for the success of an enterprise and in the long run will boost India’s ranking in the ease of doing business.

The session, organised at the Kingdom of Dreams, Gurugram, saw Government, industry leaders as well as the women entrepreneurs attending the ThinkBig 2017, hosted by ThinkThrough Consulting (TTC) in association with WEConnect International. It has been the 5th edition of the summit that provided the attendees with an incredible platform to present their businesses ideas and exchange in-depth knowledge with other participants.
 
ThinkBig 2017, which is a part of the run-up to the 7th edition of Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in 2017, ‘Road to GES’ series, concluded with a pledge to empowering women in business by creating newer avenues and a favorable ecosystem.

The summit kicked off with welcome address by Parul Soni, Global Managing Partner, TTC and followed by keynote addresses delivered by the K Ratna Prabha, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka and Vinay Pratap Singh, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Gurugram, Haryana. Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Government of India shared thoughts through a video message. Sonjoy Chatterjee, Chairman, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, Elizabeth Vasquez, Co-Founder & CEO, WEConnect International along with luminaries like Marina Walter, Country Director, UNDP, Gavin McGillivray, Head, DFID, United Kingdom also addressed the gathering.

The event included power-packed sessions coupled with a trade show on the sideline that witnessed an active participation by over 1500 delegates, high profile dignitaries and business leaders, such as Krish Iyer, CEO, Walmart India, Jenny Grieser, Senior Director, Women Economic Empowerment, Walmart and Vandana Verma, Program Director, Ikea Foundation.

Vaishali Dar

BW Reporters Vaishali Dar is a Senior Associate Editor with BW Businessworld and Editorial Head with BW Disrupt. She writes on corporates, start-ups, hospitality and travel