Clothesline (National)
April 1 2003

“Entrepreneurs are one of the most critical drivers of growth and value creation in an economy. They initiate, support and drive innovation, enhancing not just their immediate environment, but the economy as a whole.” With this strong belief, the Wadhwani Foundation, based in the US, has launched the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) in India.

The Wadhwani Foundation was launched in the year 2000 with the objective of helping individuals reach their full potential, regardless of their background. Since its inception, the Wadhwani Foundation has launched and supported various initiatives around the country. The foundation is funded by a philanthropist and a dynamic entrepreneur, Mr. Romesh Wadhwani, Chairman and President, Wadhwani Foundation. A B.S. from IIT Mumbai and PhD from Carnegie Mellon University, Mr. Wadhwani is currently floating his fourth company, Symphony Technology Group. It is his passion for India and the determination to bring about a spirit of entrepreneurship among the young generation that the NEN has been launched exclusively in India for now.

Commenting on his mission to bring an entrepreneurial evolution in India, Mr. Wadhwani said, “The economic greatness of a country is fueled by the strength and vitality of its entrepreneurs. India has the raw entrepreneurship potential to make it one of the world’s fastest growing economies, helping to accelerate economic development and create millions of professional jobs in all industries and regions, not just information technology. However, to unleash this potential, India needs to actively encourage, mentor and support its first generation entrepreneurs, to provide them with the knowledge they need to start and build successful businesses and to remove intuitional obstacles to their success.”

The aim of NEN is two-fold: First, to inspire a large number of individuals to choose entrepreneurship and secondly, to provide them with the support systems necessary to increase their likelihood and scale of their success. “Over the next few years, India’s economy will have to grow at between 8 and 10 per cent in order to prevent critical unemployment rates as high as 16 per cent, predicts a recent study by McKinsey & Co., India. One of the most important creators of jobs in the growth of new, entrepreneurial companies. We believe that the ideal way to do this through entrepreneurship,” Ms. Laura Parkin, Executive Director, Wadhwani Foundation told Clothesline.

To launch the National Entrepreneurship Network this year, the program is open to disciplines and academic institutions ranging from fashion technology, hotel management, design and engineering institutes. Almost 200 academic institutions from across the country will be invited to participate in the competition. Of the 15 finalists selected by an illustrious panel of international judges, 5 will be selected as winners. The criteria of selection will be on the institutions ability to generate significant number of new entrepreneurs, contribute to the success of NEN, the response of the students and whether the institution has a track record of innovation.

The winners of the 2003 competition will receive seed funding between US$ 10,000 to US$ 50,000 from the Wadhwani Foundation. Each selected institution will have full control over the staffing, the content and the students. The NEN activity will be planned and developed by the institution with inputs from the NEN Advisory board. The greatest benefit of this network will be that students will be able to interact with not only the faculty, but also industry experts. There could also be some common programs, where all the 5 centers can come together. This will encourage the interaction of students from different fields, like students from fashion institutes will be able to interact with those from engineering students. This network is meant to stir amongst these students the desire to innovate and create their own identity.