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The company associated with the Summit as the SME Knowledge Partner and also partnered for the session 'Brick by Brick – Touching a Billion Lives'.
While Day 1 of the Summit started with an inspiring inaugural speech from the Nobel Laureate, Professor Amartya Sen, who reminded the entrepreneurs of the responsibility towards the society, Day 2 hosted various interesting sessions for the SMEs. These included 'Technology for SMEs', 'Finance for SMEs', 'Start Small, Think Big', among others. Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, IndiaMART.com, chaired the discussion on 'Technology for SMEs' which had speaker representations from eProcBay and global technology giants Microsoft and Google.
The session commenced with Mr. Dinesh Agarwal stressing on the benefits of technology to the SME sector and highlighting how technology can help the SMEs grow beyond their realms. He said, “SMEs need simple format applications and we need to come up with customized tools for them. If we see, in the last five years, various free tools and applications have come up for them. In fact, we launched a book 'Free for SMEs' specifically on this in association with IAMAI.” He called in for efforts from the corporates to invest their time in understanding the needs of the SMEs' businesses and accordingly develop applications which are in sync with their requirements.
The representatives from technology giants elaborated on the initiatives taken by their companies to help the SMEs. Elucidating on the steps taken by Microsoft, Mr. Tarun Malik, proclaimed, “As an organisation, we go beyond technology. We have launched Rural Innovation Fund, etc. to provide support to SMEs through our partners.” Throwing light on the innovations by eProcBay, Mr. Rajiv Gupta, said, “We have created a delivery model which can help SMEs deploy products very easily.” He also emphasized on the need to handhold the SMEs to make them aware about the use and benefits of technological applications available. Mr. Pradeep Agarwal shared that at Google, they walk in as a partner with SMEs and also add value by offering to market them.
There was a volley of questions from the audience keen to get solutions from the masterminds. One such question came from Mr. Ashish, owner of a home textile business, who asked for suggestions on the applications which can solve his issues related to costing and procurement. To this, Mr. Rajeev Gupta advised on the use of a dynamic platform like eProcBay. On being asked for top three technologies for SMEs, Mr. Dinesh Agarwal replied that it is important to identify technologies that help in overall SME Marketing, HR management, Finance & Accounting and Production & Administration.
Day 3 had a high-profile keynote panel wherein Ms. Shaili Chopra, Senior Editor of ET Now quizzed Mr. Raman Roy, CMD, Quattro, Mr. Shivinder Singh, MD, Fortis Healthcare, etc. It also had significant sessions for SMEs such as 'Reach & Engage: New Wave of Marketing' wherein Mr. Pankaj Agarwal, Co-founder, ClickIndia.com informed that his company is a marketplace where buyers and sellers meet; potential buyers are brought in reach of users with minimal cost; marketing costs are reduced for SMEs. Another speaker Mr. Arun Kharat, Director, Wings Travel, highlighted how important online presence is to get more business for which he liasioned with IndiaMART.com. On their recent marketing strategy, he said, “We are using the green message for our marketing. We are working towards this by using green fuel, encouraging car pools and online marketing.” Google's Mr. Gautam Gandhi emphasised on adopting online advertising as it is the most effective medium.
The focus of the Summit this year was on enterprising India. The three-day annual conference was a platform for budding entrepreneurs to get lessons from industry leaders such as Mr. Shiv Nadar, Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, HCL Technologies, and many others. The Summit also hosted sessions on Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid; Global Challenges to Make the World More Inclusive in the Next Decade; Telecom: Beyond 2010 Surge or New Technologies along with many others. Entrepreneurs from other countries such as Zohar Zisapeland, Chairman, RAD Data Communications, also shared their entrepreneurial experiences.
About IndiaMART.com
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs, buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade shows participation.
Founded in 1996 by Mr. Dinesh Agarwal (CEO), the company has a pan-India presence in over 100 cities. With over 2400 employees located across 55 offices in the country, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of value- added products and services to its 1 million registered members and nearly 5 million global buyers across various industries and verticals.
IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years and has been widely covered by media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc for its pioneering role in promoting SME business in the country. Its existing investors include Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.
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