The Entrepreneurs’ Committee of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry held its 5th Entrepreneurship Conclave on September 16 at the Bengal Chamber premises.
The conclave was a preferred destination for entrepreneurs, investors and innovators where they discussed, debated and dissected what the future held in a vibrant atmosphere.
This conclave was aimed at offering a platform to the entrepreneurs to discover and unleash breakthrough ideas, innovations and insights needed to realise their power to upgrade the social, economic and technical ecosystem. The conclave also identified and recognised entrepreneurs with outstanding entrepreneurial vision.
In a nutshell, it was a networking platform for the experienced entrepreneurs, leading industry experts, government policy makers, active investors and institutions, influencers, facilitators and of course corporate representatives.
Speaking at the event, Anirudh A Damani, managing partner of Artha Venture Fund, said, “Kolkata used to be the commercial capital of the country. There is a lot of energy here but as of now, Bengal has not been a major part of the start-up ecosystem. In the next 5 years, it is imperative that Bengal participates in the start-up process. The state has the potential to start food-related business. In the next 5 years, if things fall in the right track, Bengal could be the ecosystem to watch out for.”
Lahana Ghosh, finance & operations manager of Jugal’s, which is celebrating 100 years, felt that the sweetmeat business needed a better organised sector. She said, “Unorganized sector runs the Indian economy and our business, too, falls under this (unorganized) sector. We need to convert it into an organized sector and need to upgrade skills. There should be wage equity too. We need contributions from academicians and people of the industry. Earlier, people were leaving the state but are now returning. This will help the economy of the state to grow.”
Another speaker, MasterChef Kirti Bhoutika, chef & owner of Sugarplum Cakery, who had prepared desserts for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Switzerland, said, “Women do face difficulties in various industries. Thankfully, I haven’t, but I am in a small-scale industry and if I plan to make it large-scale, perhaps the struggle will be more. As women, we need to find a place for ourselves in the society.”
Other attendees included S. Radhakrishnan, former president, BCC&I; Deepak Daftari, chairperson, The Entrepreneur’s Committee, BCC&I; Binod Kumar Homagai, co-chairperson, The Entrepreneur’s Committee, BCC&I; Narender Kumar, AGM-MSME, Canara Bank; Amal Kumar Dutta, Haldia Institute of Technology; Ajanta Sinha Roy, director, Vidya.com Consultancy Pvt Ltd and Satyabrata Dey, managing director, Sreeleathers Ltd.
