The buzz around entrepreneurship is everywhere. Startups make headlines every
day; the Unicorns ($1bn valuation) are celebrated; Startup innovations are
recognized. The government certainly has become very proactive – for the first
time in India’s history, we have a separate ministry of entrepreneurship. Besides
this, there was the Startup India campaign launched by the PM some time back. Entrepreneurship
is truly an exciting domain in India today.
This creates a perception that startups/entrepreneurship is a sunshine, Greenfield,
or new area. This is not true.
The fact is that ‘startups’ is just a fancy word. When an Infosys or a
Wipro started up 25-30 years ago they didn’t quite use the term ‘startup’; but
they were startups nevertheless. Before them, there were the industrial houses
like the Tatas, the Mahindras besides the whole host of small entrepreneurs
that we don’t perhaps talk about or know about or cover in our media.
Entrepreneurship has always been India’s mainstream. Startups have been the way
to live in India albeit at a small scale. The Indian social and economic context
is challenging; everyday challenges of life require us to think differently. So,
there is no way but to innovate out of it and startups have been at the
forefront of this innovation. Given our history and need for developing
enterprise, entrepreneurship is not just natural but a necessity.
The other thing peculiar and inherent to Indian entrepreneurship is this
psyche of ‘jugaad’ or frugal
innovation if you want to use a formal term. This is not necessarily a good
thing because ‘jugaad’ is often associated with “unethical” shortcuts for
narrow and personal gains. At the same
time, I think that streak of innovation is embedded in our DNA and that it can
be harnessed for the larger good, for innovation that serves society and solves
some of the many complex problems that we have. I feel there is the need, there
is the skill set and we are moving in that direction.
So is entrepreneurship a sunshine area? No. Is the focus on
entrepreneurship and startups something new and interesting? Yes. Is it
grabbing the fancy of most urban metro places? Yes. Is it really getting
excitement going in our Tier 2 cities and rural areas? Perhaps. And that is
what needs to change. For innovation and entrepreneurship to become a national
movement, a lot more needs to be done. We have only just begun to encourage
this wave and much more needs to be done to support startups, especially ones
that solve larger societal problems.
Another popular perception is that entrepreneurship is related to youth.
This is actually a fallacy. If entrepreneurship is about thinking differently,
asking “why not” and not just asking why, about being solution oriented rather
than problem focused, about being a little crazy, if you will, about challenging
the norms and being able to not just dream big but actually implement it then every
job is entrepreneurial. Remember, there is no restriction; there is no
socio-economic divide; there is no age to be entrepreneurial. As Mohd Yunus,
the Noble Peace Prize winner said, “Everyone is an Entrepreneur”.
ABOUT CENTRE FOR ENTREPRENERUSHIP
EDUCATION, BENNETT UNIVERSITY
The Centre seeks to transform motivated students into
resourceful, entrepreneurial and innovative leaders through classroom and
hands-on experiences. We envisage that it will to grow into a dynamic hub that prepares
students from every discipline to solve the future’s most critical challenges
by focusing on three distinct areas: Learn, Prepare and Launch.
The curriculum will include a concentration in
entrepreneurship offered by Bennett University’s School of Management. In the
coming years, a minor in entrepreneurship will be offered for all non-business students.
CFE will provide intensive mentoring from experienced
faculty and successful entrepreneurs to support project based activities,
thereby fostering innovative mindsets in students. Student entrepreneurs will
be able to utilise the CFE’s physical resources, intensive programs and the
Bennett Incubator on campus to grow products or companies into sustainable
enterprises.
The Hatchery, CFE’s on-campus facility, is designed to
provide a space for start-ups (students and other invitees) to incubate their
ventures. In addition to the workspace, there will also be a teaching and
learning area. The Centre will also develop a Faculty Fellowship program which
will support professors as they drive innovative curriculum and entrepreneurial
student projects.
To know more click here
For any query click here