DARE - Because Entrepreneurs Do

India is a power-keg of entrepreneurial talent, waiting to explode. This has been repeatedly proved, as much by a spate of start-ups during the early dotcom days as by a number of world-beating IT companies.

However, much of the country’s huge and undeniable savvy for enterprise remains bottled up, largely because of road-blocks ranging from systemic to cultural.

Vineet Bajpai Founder, Magnon Solutions

For an entrepreneur on the block, the absence of organized venture finance is perhaps the single biggest hurdle. While high-risk-high-innovation businesses, which are a very small fraction of the total number of new ventures, do have access to venture capital, this is not the general case.

It is virtually impossible for an Indian entrepreneur to raise small capital of say US$ 100,000, unless he is willing to pledge collaterals to a bank or knock on the doors of unpredictable high net worth individuals.

Indian banks need to be encouraged to apportion at least a small fraction of their lending towards unsecured investment into entrepreneurial ventures.

Then there is the socio-economic aspect to contend with. Unlike in the West, entrepreneurs in India do not command respect from friends, family and the society at large unless they achieve spectacular success.

Indians raise their children with a clear mandate to secure a degree and then a salaried job. Seldom do families encourage their young ones to look at entrepreneurship as a career option.

They fail to understand that apart from a career option with an infinite growth potential, entrepreneurship is also among the noblest ways to serve the nation.

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