Hindu Business Line (National)
March 30, 2003
Anna Peter

In something of a unique initiative, the Wadhwani Foundation is offering five Indian Institutions $10,000-50,000 to develop in-house programmes that will encourage entrepreneurship among students and potential entrepreneurs.

The aim is to help individuals achieve their potential, irrespective of their backgrounds. In concrete terms, this involves creating 1,000 entrepreneurs in 10 years, and changing at least one million lives.

According to Ms Laura Parkin, Executive Director, Wadhwani Foundation, entrepreneurship is the key to change.

The idea is to support entrepreneurs who set up big companies, or small companies that grow rapidly, because they create large-scale employment that eventually spurs growth in economy. The Foundation, she said, was also hoping to target programmes at rural entrepreneurs and less skilled labour.

Thus, the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) programme will seek to create entrepreneurial development centers within academic institutions. NEN participation is by invitation – 250 so far – and this will ultimately be narrowed down to five.

The chosen centers will help budding entrepreneurs with essential support structures, courses and skill building and act as hubs for a dozen or more regional centers.

Complementing the NEN, is the National Entrepreneurship Survey, which will identify barriers to entrepreneurship, build a systematic knowledge base, develop policies and track trends in entrepreneurship; and the Global Entrepreneurship Forum, which will bring together academics, policy makers and industrialists to discuss ways to drive growth and entrepreneurship.

The institutions will be selected on their abilities to generate entrepreneurs and initiatives contributing most to positive ‘trickle-down’ effects. The money will be disbursed by the start of the next academic session.

Ms Parkin emphasised that the foundation viewed this as an investment, and not a prize, for institutions to find ways to keep the funds pouring in or investing it in activities. These could include providing their newfound knowledge to corporate executives for a price, etc.

The response from institutions, including students, has been enthusiastic, according to Ms Parkin. Based on the success of their programmes, these centers could also get $2,50,000 to $1 million in due course.

Ms. Parkin said that there was a significant change in the structure of higher education and the Government was asking many institutions to seek other means of funding. There was general acceptance among the public and Government that entrepreneurs were a valuable resource.

Some of those who will choose the lucky institutions are Ms Naina Lal Kidwai, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, HSBC; Mr. Harsh Mariwala, CMD, Marico Industries; Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson and MD, The Biocon India Group of Companies; Mr Sunil Mittal, Chairman and Group Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises; Mr. Howard Stevenson, Professor of Business Administration Harvard University.

Its advisors are Mr N. R. Narayan Murthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies; Dr Amar Bhide, Glaubinger Professor of Business, Columbia University; and Mr Narayan Vaghul, former Chairman of ICICI.

The foundation earlier gave $1.5 million to the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, to fund the Wadhwani Center for Entrepreneurial Development.

Mr. Wadhwani, based in the US, is the creator of Aspect Development (sold in 1999) and Symphony Technology group, and was earlier the Chairman and CEO of Cimflex Teknowledge Corporation, US.