BHARATI PAWASKAR
Nothing is impossible if one grabs the first opportunity that’s thrown to him or her and turns it into gold. Citing two success stories from his home state Gujarat, Dr Jagat Shah, founder, Global Network Institute (GNI) points out that entrepreneurship does not require age or education. These can never become hindrance in achieving one’s goal as an entrepreneur.
The first example Jagat cites is that of a retired ONGC employee from Gujarat who started a business of digital animation at the age of 71 and today registers a turnover of Rs 110 crore, employing 300 people, all of whom are handicapped. The second example is that of a 14-year old boy, Harshwardhan Zala, a class X student who signed Rs 5 crore MoU with the department of Science and Technology, Gujarat government to facilitate production of drones that help detect and defuse land mines on war fields. Zala had developed three prototypes of the landmine detecting drone in 2016 with an expenditure of around Rs 5 lakh (Rs 2 lakhs from the parents and the remaining Rs 3 lakh from the state to develop the third prototype) and even created a business model, at the age of 14. Two years later, at 16, he was at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, sharing his experience and signing an MoU. “Both of these entrepreneurs are products of our GNI,’ shares a proud Dr Jagat who promises to empower Goans too. Pointing out that businesses across the globe are going digital, Dr Jagat expects India to join the bandwagon with its 130 crore population, 105 crore of who use mobiles and 45 crore out of them using smart phones. “Just look around you for the problems. Every problem is a business opportunity.” suggests Dr Jagat who feels that solving local problems can fetch money.“Not many have the knowledge of economy. Our school motivates the students to start something of their own. Action at the speed of thought is what we believe in. Anything doable should be done immediately, before someone else grabs or steals the idea. Even anything that starts small has the potential to go global,” observes Dr Jagat.
At global level, 69 per cent of the exports are from developed countries. These are machine-made items. But anything made by hand has great value. Jagat who addressed 600 women at Vibrant Goa road show recently, had invited 45 Goans from 18 countries, asking them if they can support these women. Most of these overseas Goans had been living abroad for 25-30 years and are eager to help fellow Goans. Dr Jagat asked them if they can spend 2-3 hours on weekends to market Goan products.
Another approach is to start an online portal of all women’s products, Dr Jagat suggested. It takes three years or 1000 days to get it going. Those who upload their products will be able to sell globally. This is to empower women and help them earn money. Even those who make in small quantities can sell and get high value.
There is no theory at GNI, students bring their laptops, work and communicate live. There is no particular criterion for joining GNI - no age or education bar. Entrepreneurship does not require it. There’s no written script, everything is taught in the digital film format. Training is imparted in international market strategy, games on market research, selecting trade partners, online e-commerce exports, export pricing, FOREX, shipping procedures and other practical sessions to establish businesses and take them global.
After being trained by the 14 faculties at GNI, many students became Rs 100-300 crore worth exporters. Nine of GNI faculties are their own former students who start their first lecture with these words, - ‘A few years ago, I was sitting on your seat…’ and share their own inspiring success stories with the students. Building blocks for future
“Having met Dr Jagat Shah in 2013-14, I learned from his ideology. His mentoring opened my vision, connected me to newer horizons. From mining, I diversified into cement products and kept on adding to my portfolio. Visiting different countries has added to my knowledge base. I now run seven factories in Goa, five of which were started in the past four years. For me, it’s a circular economy. Dr Jagat’s knowledge base and his connects have helped me grow tremendously. After Diwali, I will be exploring the possibility of starting my 8th factory in collaboration with a Vietnamese business partner. This is the case with each one at Vibrant Goa. Each stall-owner got minimum 200 leads. I got 238.”
” Arman Bankley, SME Industrialist, Goa
