IIA Newsletter : INDIA SME CONCLAVE 2011

E-Newsletter
Volume 1, Year 13, January 2012

INDIA SME CONCLAVE 2011

Indian Industries Association (IIA) and the Entrepreneurship Cell of IIM Lucknow jointly organized INDIA SME CONCLAVE 2011 on 26th November, 2011 at IIM Lucknow campus. The theme of the conclave this year was “Growth Strategies for SME's”. The SMEs face a host of issues such as lack of access to credit, excessive government regulation, an arbitrary and exploitative tax administration system, a weak technological base and the lack of business support services. The themewas centred on identifying these issues, the ways and means to address and mitigate them and thereby help in graduating anSMEto a higher level. Keeping in view the challenges faced by sector, the SME conclave this year focused on the following key areas for sustainable and enhanced growth ofSMEs in India: Right vision and strategies for SME's to achieve sustainable, enhanced growth Practical solutions to align strategies with lifecycle/phases of product/services Structuring the Finances - Low Cost Capital & Cost of raw materials Innovative Financial Solution – Derivatives ( Futures,Options) EffectiveSMEspecific marketing solutions

Shri V N Garg, IAS IID Commissioner, Govt. Of UP, inaugurated the SME conclave as Chief Guest. He has held various positions in Government of UP since 1987 in departments ranging from education to energy to infrastructure. Under his able guidance and leadership, the UP Housing and Development Board received ISO 9001:2000 Certification. He explained about the initiatives and various schemes and subsidies available for the MSMEs sector. He urged financial institutions to provide proper exit strategy for the sick companies and even help them out by not levying high interest when the companies fall sick. He also emphasized the government's role in providing infrastructure, energy lands and other facilities for the SMEs. Mr. Garg appreciated the spirit of top level leaders of MSMEs and acknowledged that it is their will and initiative on which the future of the country depends.

Mr K M Nair, Chief General Manager of SIDBI was one of the dignitaries present in the conclave as Guest of Honour. has been the Zonal in charge of various regions such as South, North, etc. Under his great leadership, SIDBI has extended its presence by opening branches at key locations in India. He spoke about importance of finance for the MSMEs. He emphasized on role of SIDBI as the principal financial institution for the promotion, financing and development of industry in the small scale sector and to co-ordinate the functions of the institutions engaged in the promotion and financing or developing industry in the small scale sector. He also talked about some of the products offered by SIDBI to help small enterprises.

Sh. Manish Goel, General Secretary, IIA, speaking on the MSME Landscape and Role of IIA in MSME Growth dwelt on the history of Indian Economy, present status of MSMEs in India and their contribution to economy and IIA's efforts for their uplift. Sh Goel, also explained the prevailing definition of the Micro,Small&Medium Enterprises and their categorization as per the MSMED Act 2006. He said that only 5.94% of MSME's are registered in the Country. This is an important observation from the point of viewof planning promotional and growth strategies for the sector as most of the decisions will depend upon the data of registered units. He recommended that efforts should be made to register all MSME's through the network of DIC's all over the country. General Secy, IIA, informed that IIA is into 26th year of its service to MSME and has more than 5000 members registered through various chapters. IIA is an active and permanent member of more than 36 consultative committees /boards /expert groups formed by Govt. of India and the State Government including MSME Task Force constituted in PMO and Working Groups constituted by Planning Commission. Speaking on the special initiatives by IIA for the promotion and growth of MSME,Mr.Goel informed onMSMEknowledge Bank,MSME Data Centre, MSME News Magazine, IIA website and many more. IIA's future plans include Development of E-Data Centre, MSME B-2-B Portal. Business Delegations/Ti-ups with Germany, ASEAN, SAARC, Latin American Countries etc. “MSME Sector is a nursery of Entrepreneurship Development where entrepreneurs test their individual creativity and innovation,” Sh. Manish Goel, General Secretary, IIA, reflected.

Kunwar Sachdev, CEO and founder of Su KamPower Systems made the session livelier. He has been conferred with the most coveted 'Bharath Shironmani', Award and 'Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2011'. At the young age of 20, without any financial support, Mr. Sachdev started Su-Kam Communications in 1992 by sharing his entrepreneurial journey from selling pen on cycle to making the world's most trusted invertors. He emphasized on the fact that money never makes money, it is the idea and spirit that matters. He said that one of the key reasons for success of his enterprise is innovation and constant development of technology, which has allowed him to leave all the competitors behind. Mr. Sachdev also emphasized the importance of human resources and described the employee bonding activity followed in his company.


	Prof Sushil Kumar, faculty of IIM Lucknow emphasized the need to constantly change and adapt to new technologies to stay in the business. He said that if you cannot change, it will be difficult to survive in today's cut throat completion. He also talked at length about how an organization grows right from the start, the entrepreneurial phase to the maturity state and what are the strategies that the organization should follow at each stage. Prof Sushil Kumar emphasized that if an MSME wishes to grow fast, he should be ready to face the revolution stagesmore frequently.
Mr Anand Lunia, Executive Director at Seedfund, spoke on financing related issues faced by MSMEs. He is an active Angel Investor and has invested in successful startups like Inkfruit, a crowdsourcing apparel company etc. He emphasized the importance of maintaining good relations with banks for any startup venture. He explained about the strategies and intricacies involved for a VC to fund an SME. Mr Lunia highlighted various parameters that a VC looks for before funding an enterprise like motivation and commitment level of an entrepreneur, domain expertise,amount of risk involved and leadership skills. Prof Satish Kumar, faculty of IIM Lucknow spoke about the benefits of marketing and advertisement for MSMEs. He discussed various marketing strategies specifically for MSMEs as they have a very limited marketing and advertising budget and how they can put this budget to the optimal use. He also emphasized that MSMEs can also look at internet as an effective means for promoting their business. Prof Vinay Kumar, faculty of IIM Lucknow spoke about the importance of financial planning for the MSMEs and about various concepts like entrepreneurial finance , lowcost procurement of rawmaterials, risk reduction forMSMEs. The event saw enthusiastic participation both from representatives of MSME sector and students. The MSMEs interacted extensively with the dignitaries. The students present in the session also found the programme academically stimulating and enriching.