Curtains fall on TiE Entrepreneurial Summit

BANGALORE, INDIA: The three-day TiE Entrepreneurial Summit 2008 concluded today, accomplishing its objective of unlocking entrepreneurial energies by bringing together a wide array of entrepreneurs from diverse sectors.

More than 1,700 delegates had registered and attended the summit, making it an unqualified success. TiE Delhi president Pradeep Gupta announced that TES 2008 had set very high standards in addition to setting the scale and ambitions for the next TiE Entrepreneurial Summit.

Carrying forward the theme of ‘Inclusive Entrepreneurship’ the concluding day of the summit featured key luminaries and decision makers, most notably R K Pachauri, chairman IPCC and director general, TERI, and a high-power panel discussion chaired by Sonjoy Chatterjee, executive director, ICICI Bank with Atul Punj of Punj Lloyds, Hari Bhartia of Jubilant Organosys and Mihir Doshi, CEO of Credit Suisse.

Pachauri discussed the impact of climate change, suggesting a realistic response strategy in areas of investment, technology, legal mandates and consumer attitudes.

“Today, we need political support to mitigate the impact of climate change and deliver green growth,” said Pachauri. Countries and companies that do not respond to the need for change will lose respect from consumers, he added.

Chairing the special panel discussion titled ‘From Adversity to Advantage: Opportunities for Growth & Investment’, Sonjoy Chatterjee, executive director, ICICI Bank suggested that the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India was finding sustenance despite the economic downturns.

Atul Punj mentioned that this could also be opportunities for companies to make good acquisitions/investments as the price point of some of the companies would provide attractive upsides in the times to come. Hari Bhartia on the contrary mentioned  that cash is king and companies must be conservative in spending cash and use Lean and Sig Sigma techniques for process improvements.

The final leg of the summit saw an emphasis on Green Technology and processes with a focus on funding trends in Green technology. Terence Hart, CEO, Technical Director and co-founder of ITPI and director of IT Power UK, emphasized the need of investments in sustainable energy technologies. He urged that young and budding entrepreneurs should look at business initiatives that combine the functionality of profit making with products and processes that have a low impact on the environment