Can all of us become entrepreneurs? It may not be a sweet pill with guaranteed success, but everyone must give entrepreneurship a good shot, said K. Kumar, Professor of Entrepreneurship, N. S. Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Entrepreneurship is good for society and the economy. But is it good for you and me? Tweaking the proverbial take on love, Kumar said, “It is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all.”
Knowledge is key
Speaking at the entrepreneurship convention organised by the Madras Management Association, Kumar said the era of labour, capital and land for economic progress, is over. “Today, knowledge is key to creating economic value.”
This is where entrepreneurship comes in. “It is all about creating something with limited resources,” said Kumar.
With an explosion of management students, the Government and private sector alone cannot provide meaningful job opportunities, said K. S. Ramesh, Director, Suguna Foods. The climate for entrepreneurship has never been better, with easy access to finance and technology, and centres such as the N. S. Raghavan Centre eager to nurture and incubate bright ideas. “With growing consumerism and the need for instant gratification, the world is the market place,” he said.
There are 30 million small and medium entrepreneurs in India, employing 60 million people. The contribution of SMEs to the country’s GDP has grown from 17 per cent in 2011 to 22 per cent this year.
Ranganath N. K., Managing Director, Grundfos Pumps, urged the youth to take a break from the virtual world and meet with ground reality.