Building A Culture of Innovation By India, For IndiaFor entrepreneurs, it is about thinking news ideas that they can bring to India and grow them quickly.

BySandeep Soni

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Entrepreneur India
Ritu Marya, Editor-in-Chief, Entrepreneur India Media, interacting with Rohit Talwar, a global futurist and strategist, and CEO, Fast Future

At a time when new economy businesses look for quick growth without much pondering on their business models then how can they gear themselves up for near future challenges? And how the change can be brought in at the bottom of the pyramid for a cohesive India's growth?

Rohit Talwar, a global futurist and strategist, and CEO, Fast Future, advising businesses on spotting and managing risks, shares a broader view of the current state of affairs over Chat on Chaat withRitu Marya, Editor-in-Chief, Entrepreneur India media.

Are Indian businesses capable of facing future challenges? If not, then how can they do that?

许多现有的印度企业做得很好taking ideas from other markets and re-engineer them for the local market. We are not seeing genuine R&D going in India to create products for global market.

That's a challenge for the corporate world to understand what can change in the world in next three-15 years and how to create solutions according to that.

So one way is by having R&D units that are doing innovative work for the future, second is building university partnerships with the people or industries that are pioneering new ideas, and third is having teams to go out and look for developments and form technology partnerships with innovators.

How are corporate houses responding to disruptive ideas coming up?

We see corporate houses setting up corporate venture arms through which they invest in new ideas that could change the company or even potentially take over them in the future. Also there is a need to focus on developing skills and talent and innovate to prepare corporate houses for the future rather than simply focusing on day-to-day activities.

There's a lot that can be done at the grassroots level. How can entrepreneurs leverage that?

There is a bigger opportunity for businesses of every size to create solutions that can serve entire country. So if solutions are created to make people aware about sanitation and give them better living conditions, healthy food, etc, they can become lots more productive.

We also need to invest in skills, training and education at every level. This won't just make them more productive in the society but also future customers for Indian businesses and will help reduce the potential for civil unrest also.

Any piece of advice to young entrepreneurs?

For entrepreneurs, it is about thinking news ideas they can bring to India and grow them quickly because of the scale India offers and then take them to the global stage. This is a great time for them because of the growth of new industries in technology, bio technology, food processing, energy and environment.

There are no limited areas of opportunity. For example, there are floor panels in a shopping center in South Africa that generate energy when people walk. In India, that can be done with pavements, airports, shopping centers, etc, and this is a great entrepreneurial opportunity.

(This article first appeared in the Indian edition of Entrepreneur magazine (January, 2016 Issue).

Wavy Line
Sandeep Soni

Former Features Editor

Related Topics

领导

From Indore to BSE

EKI's journey began in 2008 as a start-up initiative in Indore and it is now present in 17 countries around the world.

Business News

Netflix is Hiring an AI-Focused Role—and the Starting Salary is up to $900,000

The streaming giant is looking for a leader in its machine learning department.

News and Trends

Google Invites Applications For Eighth Batch Of Startups Accelerator Programme

Applications are open until August 22, and eligible startups should have AI as a core solution or product, including generative AI

Money & Finance

How to Make Money Online: 10 Proven Ways to Make Money Online

Need to know how to make money online as a side gig or new career? Check out this breakdown of the 10 top online money-making methods.

Thought Leaders

I Pitched 300 People a Day For 1 Year — and Learned This Impactful Entrepreneurial Lesson

After working myself to the bone pitching 300 people each day for one year, I came out of that experience as a new man — but surprisingly, an unhappier one. Here's what I learned.

Business Ideas

The Top 10 Home Business Ideas for 2023

Can't figure out which enterprise you should launch in 2023? Check out 10 stellar home business ideas to get inspiration.