Rise of Entrepreneurs in India

There is a galore of Indian entrepreneurs in the Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest every year. But, this is merely a factoid; more significant is the rise of new entrepreneurs in India. In almost every new industry that has attained stature in the last decade, the rising star is not from the established business houses but an upstart.

Take Sunil Mittal, whose phone company now has the sixth-highest value. Ten years back, Mittal would not have figured even in the B list of Indian businessmen. Today, he is ahead not only of patricians like Tatas but also of a global major like Hutchison-Whampoa.

Naresh Goyal’s Jet Aiways, barely in fifteen years, has emerged as the largest airline in the country, upstaging the State-owned Indian Airlines, and buying up a private sector rival, Sahara.

In the sunrise retailing sector the big boys, Kishore Biyani and B.S. Nagesh, are creating a furore. Kishore, a totally unknown name a decade ago is now a media darling, a man-on-the-go. Pantaloon and Shoppers’ Stop are the Indian challengers-in-waiting for Wal-Mart as they have already swept the likes of Tata (Trent) and RPG off the floor in the retail business.

What about the country’s leading airports? The carpetbaggers here are again first-generation names like G.M. Rao and G.V.K. Reddy. Having interesting histories in banking, power and hoteliering, both are now into the big league after outdoing airport bids against celebrities with household surnames.

The most extraordinary stories of meteoric rise in the annals of entrepreneurship, however, belong to Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji and Shiv Nadar. They have surpassed their counterparts in advanced countries in software development and helped India emerge as the leading Software power. In the same breath, we must mention Subhash Chandra, the amusement parks owner and a pioneer of satellite TV in India. Within a few years he has outperformed the oldest media house in the country.

Uday Kotak has founded a bank that promises to be yet another ICICI. Rajeev Chandrashekhar, an engineer–turned-telecom tycoon is truly an adventurer. Returning from the US, he got into a telecom business, sold it out and is now entering into freight transport —as the railways are privatising the container business. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, another pioneer, has made impressive forays into biotech industry.

Among the electronic media enterprisers Prannoy Roy and Raghav Behl are India’s news kings. How about Jignesh Shah, the challenger. He is another first-generation business entrepreneur involved in a David-Goliath duel with the country’s biggest financial players for market leadership in commodity exchange. The list is getting longer daily.

Only a few decades back, Indian entrepreneurs had to leave India in order to prove their spirit of enterprise. Aditya Birla wandered all over South-East Asia setting up companies and factories. Laxmi Mittal had to flee his homeland to become the world’s steel sultan.

Doing business in India is no cakewalk, what with the bureaucracy’s red tape and greasy palms, yet the Indian entrepreneur is proving his mettle. India is now a vast and vibrant market. Capital can be organized and technology accessed. De-regulation is creating new opportunities. Forbes list is no longer an Everest for Indian entrepreneurs.

Indian business is also fanning out and challenging the global multinationals. For instance, Tata is now one of the world’s lowest-cost steel producers. Indians are shaking Europe, America, other continents with their global mega-mergers and hostile takeovers. L.N. Mittal—based in London but holding an Indian passport—grabbed the world’s largest steel-maker, Arcelor. Tata, not to be left behind, gobbled up another major steel manufacturer, Corus, to become the fifth largest producer. These deals hail the emergence of global Indian entrepreneurs on the world stage. India is fast becoming a hub for metals, petro-products and auto components.

India’s second largest private firm, the Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries, may soon be among the top 10 in the world list.

According to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report, “a revolution in global business is under way”, and the axis of corporate power was shifting towards the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries.

A 2006 study by Mape, an investment bank, observed: “the Indian Multinational Company (MNC) has finally come of age” and “Indian buyers have become a force to reckon with in many industries such as pharma, auto components and oil and gas”. Liberal policies, access to cash, and the rise of entrepreneurial ambitions are creating conditions for the emergence of global Indian enterprises.

Besides the exceptional first-timer Indira Nooyi, the Pepsico chief, many banks, insurance companies and business enterprises now have women in key positions—chief executives, chief strategists, chief economists. Many head the human resource wings and are tough and tactful while dealing with the hard-core politicos and burly men dominating the restive trade unions. Kiran Shaw Majumdar, Biocon chief, or Anu Agha, who took over Thermax after her husband’s sudden death, is no transient phenomenon but is becoming a normal face of Indian business.

Higher education and new confidence are helping daughters and daughters-in-law of traditional families take up high-profile corporate roles. Women are better students, quick to grasp the nitty-gritty of work and more willing to listen to elders.
Shefali Munjal is a third generation member of the Munjal family who manages Hero Group, among the world’s largest two-wheeler makers.

Priya and Priti Paul of Apeejay Surrendra Group, met the challenge after their father got killed in a terrorist attack in India’s turbulent northeast, where the family has a tea business.

Sulajja Firodia Motwani manages her Kinetic Group as well as family. She joined the family enterprise on returning from Carnegie Mellon University. Mallika Srinivasan of Chennai-based Tractor and Farm Equipment is the eldest daughter of A. Sivasailam, chairman of the Rs 25 billion Amalgamations Group, and wife of Venu Srinivasan of the TVS Group. She is rated as one of the most successful Indian women CEOs.

Cremica is a popular biscuit and confectionery brand where Geeta Bector is both director and wife of Akshay Bector, M.D. She thinks women have a special advantage when it comes to food.

S.K. Dhamija in his book Women Entrepreneurs says: “The hidden entrepreneurial potentials of women have gradually been changing with the growing sensitivity to the role and economic status in society… Today, women entrepreneurs represent a group that has broken away from the beaten track and are exploring new avenues of economic participation.” It is estimated that women entrepreneurs currently comprise about 10 per cent of the total number of entrepreneurs in India.

Shashi Ruia describes his Essar Group as “serial entrepreneurs” and predicts the rise of new entrepreneurs. “There has not been a better time in India to reach out and touch the horizon ... entrepreneurship is no more limited to family-managed businesses in India”, he said while addressing a Convocation of the Entrepreneurship Institute of India.