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The reinvented skill development framework in a post-Covid world — Wadhwani Foundation

A paradigm shift to virtual operations is inevitable with digital platforms mushrooming in sectors like healthcare, education and retail, and generating significant employment — By Sunil Dahiya

The Covid-19 pandemic is an extraordinary challenge for the world. Unmatched in both scale and impact, it has not only taken a huge toll on human lives but also devastated the global economy and destroyed millions of jobs leaving governments grappling with the crucial question of kickstarting economic activity.

The skilling domain now clearly needs a new game plan. The new ‘work from home’ normal has necessitated the redefining of functional roles and day-to-day operations, leading to a fundamental change in the future of work, workforce and the workspace. Therefore, innovation in skill development focused on online models will be integral to the new emerging realities.

Key questions on everybody’s mind are — How do we improve the readiness of businesses in using online tools for moving seamlessly towards a remote economy? What will the future workforce look like? And what will be the new skill requirements?

A FICCI, Nasscom and EY “Future of Jobs in India — a 2022 perspective” report states that by 2022, 9 per cent Indians will be in jobs that do not exist today and 37 per cent of the Indian workforce would be employed in jobs with radically changed skill sets. And this is now accentuated further due to the pandemic and its fallout, with the skilling fabric of the nation witnessing the widening of existing fault lines. Thus, the prime focus will be to reinvent, reskill, upskill and multi-skill the workforce for dealing with the structural issues in the economy and the changing employment landscape where new emerging sectors like logistics, food delivery, fintech, BPOs etc. are expected to create more jobs.

Digital transformation The biggest post-pandemic change in the business world will be the permanent shift to a distributed workforce which operates remotely. This has emerged as the single most significant driver of digital transformation and platform-based services. Work from Home (WFH) is the new normal in almost all sectors of the economy with India Inc waking up to the realities of virtual operations.

Working virtually will demand significantly different workforce capabilities. There is now a need for greater data-driven decision-making and digitisation. As technology will be the cornerstone of almost all innovation and new ideas aimed at productivity, efficiency, ease and scale, reskilling the employees accordingly will be a new challenge.

Employees will need to be abreast with the skills to work from remote locations. Companies like Tata Consultancy Services have discarded their 20-year old operating model and are looking at 75 per cent of their employees to work from home in the run-up to 2025 making use of a new operating model christened as, ‘Secure Borderless Workspaces’ (SBWS). Many other organisations have followed suit with their similar models that allow them to deploy virtual workspaces seamlessly.

Post pandemic new world order has led business leaders to embrace a slew of digital innovations into their business operations which will require the reskilling of employees to these technologies. For example, the extension of digital technologies and cloud offerings like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented/Virtual Reality, and 3D printing to simpler and daily tasks will lead to enhanced productivity and cost optimisation.

The downside While reskilling for enhanced capabilities will become the prime driver, the mental and emotional stress on individuals should simultaneously be addressed. Turning the house into a workplace, 24×7 availability and managing domestic responsibilities, can lead to psychological and mental stress. Therefore, the mental health of employees must remain a central pillar of the organizations.

To stay ahead in the innovation game, India’s knowledge-led economy has the opportunity to showcase its global competitiveness. For this, India must ensure that the workforce upgrades its knowledge and acquires new skills to deal with a post-Covid world. We must change our mindset to Reskilling @scale and speed by harnessing our human resources and technological capabilities.

About Wadhwani Foundation:

Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org

Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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Overcoming challenges facing women entrepreneurship in India — Wadhwani Foundation

Women entrepreneurship is one of the largest possibilities and opportunities that India has to offer  —  By Atul Raja

Enterprises led by women grew to 20% from 14% in the last decade. And in the next few years, we will have 150 million students entering the workforce, out of which half are women. There have been numerous women icons like Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Ritu Kumar, Priya Paul, Ekta Kapoor who have set the bar high and there is an increasing lot of young women entrepreneurs who are now in nationwide limelight for their achievements. Take Sanjana Patel of La Folie or Bhavna Juneja who leads Infinity and Feel M Powered, for instance. But these success stories of women entrepreneurship in India are few and far between, as compared to their male counterparts. And there are several reasons for this.

1. Lack of awareness: Most of you must have watched the film English Vinglish. There is a very powerful scene where the protagonist, Sashi, played by the late Sridevi whose speciality is her homemade ‘laddoos’ learns that she is an Entrepreneur. And that makes her feel so empowered! Like Sashi, many women in India don’t even know that they are potential entrepreneurs and that they have immense power to contribute to the economy.

2. Lack of exposure and inspiration: When it comes to growing their business, women don’t have sufficient role models they can learn and get inspired from, and there is a gap in mentorship and networking to learn and replicate best practices. Of the women-owned enterprises, only 17% hire employees; the rest are single owned businesses. Also, around 10–30% of the reported women entrepreneurships are not run by women but are disguised as women-owned businesses.

3. Cultural inhibitors: Centuries of bias and conditioning have led to families being unsupportive of women entrepreneurs. Cultural practices like maternal parenting also restrict women to move away beyond motherhood and household duties making it difficult for them to invest their time and energies in building their business.

4. Financial constraints / Limited access to funds: In the case of woman entrepreneurs in India, the inability to provide tangible security to financial institutions to be able to secure loans is especially predominant. Also, the general perception still considers women as low-risk takers, and therefore, venture capital is difficult to obtain.

5. Lack of women in a diverse workforce: Urban entrepreneurs and full-fledged businesses in major cities face challenges around equal opportunity in finance, finding women as co-founders or navigating complex administrative processes as a fall out of the lack of inclusion.

6. Safety concerns: Lack of mobility due to safety concerns also hinders women entrepreneurs from meeting suppliers, travelling long distance or at night alone etc, making them work at lower than optimal efficiency.

Overcoming these challenges requires a series of socio-economic changes. As a country, we must start developing effective solutions that bridge the existing gaps and build key themes that will help the women entrepreneurship grow exponentially.

– Policy changes across rural and urban areas to build a framework that will accelerate women entrepreneurship. Currently, of all women owned businesses, only 14% are businesses across urban and rural that employ other people.

– Closing the gender gap through a more responsive financial sector. Also, build educative and simplified processes for the demographic that has not been exposed to knowledge. Financial literacy also needs urgent redressal.

– Increase in networking and mentoring platforms for women. This should include celebrating more women entrepreneurs and having formal and informal networks for women to learn and grow.

– Encourage more woman investors as they will, in turn, encourage more woman entrepreneurs due to a better understanding of the challenges.

– Use of technology to overcome the traditional barriers that woman face in terms of learning, networking, and access to finance.

India is full of opportunities, and the time has come where there is no holding back on the rise of woman entrepreneurship. The statistic that out of the 63 million MSMEs in India, only 6% are led by women entrepreneurs will not make any progressive individual proud. We cannot fritter away the vast talent pool of women, and it is high time we made a systematic effort to tap into and harness the untapped and massive potential of woman entrepreneurs who are a most precious resource for the country.

About Wadhwani Foundation:

Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org

Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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The rising significance of branding in the not-for-profit sector — Wadhwani Foundation

A non-profit brand strategy should focus on the brand as a strategic asset and necessarily drive cohesion and alignment to mission and objectives.

By Atul Raja

A cursory glance at some of the leading global non-profits and foundations reveals a paradigm shift in the way these organisations look at their brand management. Competitive advantage is not a prime driver here, but it’s the collaborations, networks and partnerships driven by a strong, empowered brand which plays an important role in the creation and engagement of like-minded communities.

The non-profit brand is more inclusive as in this sector it’s the mission, purpose and identity that speak the loudest and go on to create a strong platform for partnerships and networks that yield augmented impact. Therefore, a non-profit brand strategy should focus on the brand as a strategic asset and necessarily drive cohesion and alignment to mission and objectives, leverage internal capacity before undertaking outreach to engage external stakeholders.

Building a brand that helps a cause

Share of Voice (popularly known as SOV) is the buzzword in the FMCG and consumer durable space. However, in the absence of product lines, revenue orientation and big advertising budgets, branding in the not-for-profit space is anything but having the loudest voice in the market. It is more about building relationships and a community that believes in the same cause. Having worked for a no. of years in the non-profit space handling a global brand with high equity, here are my five mantras for building a durable, sustainable and leader brand in this sector.

Credibility is Paramount

Strong brand credentials are as important as the right and genuine intent to do social good. Earlier I spoke about the need to build a like-minded community and partnerships. High brand credibility will open the doors to this, and the best way to establish this is to “Be What You Are”.

Honest, transparent communication without any over claims always works. The work being done and the impact it creates is told better through the experience of the beneficiaries than chest-thumping by the organisation itself. The substantive difference being made in the lives of some or many is the most solid foundation that any brand can aspire for.

Thought Leadership is Critical

Non-profit branding is not just about the worldview of the brand but also how the ecosystem networks with your organisation. Thought Leadership is all about being innovative, forward-thinking, leading with ideas and hence being a trendsetter. In essence, a thought leader brand is a bank of ideas and knowledge that is seen as a resource by its ecosystem.

The brand and communication strategy to achieve thought leadership has to be driven on certain tenets:

always focus on the big idea

have a tone of voice that inspires

be data-focused with an empirical approach

evoke debates and policy actions through concrete suggestions

communicate in relevant forums

be an opinion leader in the media

create a community of the like-minded

Networking is Key

The world’s leading non-profit brands wouldn’t have been there today without having created strong networks. And these networks wouldn’t have been formed without the power of the Brand.

The branding and communication strategy plays a significant role in facilitating high-performance networks and partnerships that have synergies and common grounds. I am a witness to the power of networking and how communication and the brand not just attract the ecosystem but also keep it glued together. The effective portrayal of the brand and its ethos online and on social media platforms is an effective way to reach out to ecosystem, communicate the vision and mission and energise those who co-relate with your ideas, activities and desire to make a difference.

Technology for Scale and Connects

It’s an accepted fact that any significant scale-up is next to impossible without tech support. However, technology development can be an expensive and time-consuming process; therefore, this is not everyone’s cup of tea and becomes a natural brand differentiator. Any non-profit that harbours technology as a pillar for its expanding goals should therefore highlight this (in varied forms) in its communication along with the specific benefits.

Storytelling is a Must

Non-profit branding and communication are all about education and inspiration. For the brand to resonate with the social cause and the target audience simultaneously, meaningful stories that strike a chord are the best way to win hearts and create lasting communities and partnerships. A strong narrative approach enables different stakeholders to remain invested in the brand.

The impact of a strong non-profit brand

It’s not easy to turn a disinterested audience into loyal supporters. As a result, conventional form of brand building is now passe in the non-profit space, and there is a strong acknowledgement of the role that brand development can play in cultivating that much-desired extra-special bonding, and emotive connects which donors, partners, and internal stakeholders have with the mission of non-profits.

A strong non-profit brand means a strong capacity. When the brand identity and internal perceptions of a non-profit brand match with its external image, it means that both internal and external stakeholders are aligned with its values and mission. It also means that the branding and communication have done their task!

About Wadhwani Foundation:

Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org

Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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Don’t Fail As You Scale — Wadhwani Foundation

By Ajay Batra

Startups often confuse their post-launch phase with a steady-state where they can rest easy post their herculean efforts in launching their venture. Nothing could be farther from ground reality as a majority of startups languish in a ‘valley of death’ in their early months/years, sadly to never recover and eventually to become a mortality statistic. Many startups face existential issues right after their launch while they scramble to acquire and retain mainstream customers. Additional challenges of building the right team and managing finances accrue as their identity evolves from that of a startup to that of an operating organization.

Founders are often in haste to raise funds and to scale-up. When a startup attempts to grow without ensuring a strong foundation of product, team, finance and marketing, premature scaling can be disastrous. Each of these elements must be independently solid, as must the collective, for the startup to survive today, and thrive tomorrow. Based on our work with hundreds of early and growth-stage startups, we suggest that new ventures answer the following questions in their quest for growth:

How are your customers reacting to the product/service so far? The nascent venture’s founders must engage first-hand with customers and partners to understand their experience with the venture’s offerings. Keep in mind that customers never interact with a product/service in isolation — their experience is shaped by the quality of outreach/marketing, experience with the partners, engagement with the sales team, and the handholding provided by your technology platform and apps. Conversations with the key stakeholders often lead to product improvements, business model pivots, further market segmentation, or team changes — hence, an open mind is essential. Nathan Furr, author of Nail it then Scale it said it best, “At the heart of it, to be a successful entrepreneur you have to learn to change and adapt.” Specifically, feedback on the product/service provides deep insights into how well our product/ service is addressing real-world customer needs (and problems), and the extent to which its features are over, or under, whelming customers.

How to gauge the financial health of the startup? A common mistake made by first-time founders is to assume all is well as long as revenues come in at a good rate. It is ‘not’ the time to allow expenses to go off-radar. During the early months of the launch, when profits, if any, are scarce, startups need to keep a keen eye on their cash burn — pay special attention to your customer acquisition costs and product development investments as you begin to service more customers. An upfront effort in setting up a financial/cash-flow dashboard can save many unpleasant surprises downstream. If you don’t have a financial wizard as a co-founder, make it a point to understand the basics — simply ignoring it or outsourcing it is too risky.

Have you defined clear roles and responsibilities within the team? Ad-hoc juggling of tasks may have been the need of the hour during the startup launch phase, but at the pre-scale stage, the venture needs discipline and coordination. The founding team must attract talented team members and align them with the organization’s operations, values, and purpose. It falls upon the founding team to define roles, responsibilities, and deliverables for each team member, along with his/her position in the larger organizational structure. This upfront clarity on goals is needed before people delve deep into execution. An organization structure with delegated responsibilities allows people to evolve into accountable, responsible leaders and managers. Without this clear focus on human effectiveness and coordination, the venture may expand itself beyond its capabilities too soon.

Do you have defined key systems and processes for the venture? Founders must identify key customer-facing and internal activities that can be enhanced through standardized processes, and which must be continuously improved through qualitative and quantitative feedback. Founders must strive to create a common “nerve center” for the organization to coordinate activities, share experiences, and to monitor the quality of service to the customers. Practitioners and specialists identify business processes that ensure high-quality business operations (for example, customer acquisition, product quality, cash flow management) and organizational activities (for example, recruitment, training, and administration).

Is the heady lure of growth, funding, and associated adrenalin rush, making you jump into scaling-up too soon? With responsibility and objectivity, startups need to evaluate their product/service, financial, and organizational readiness to scale. Building a startup brick-by-brick is exactly like constructing a building that will last for decades, if not centuries. A strong, sturdy foundation assures resilience and reliable strength.

About Wadhwani Foundation:

Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org

Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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A significant WF recognition from YourStory — Wadhwani Foundation

YourStory has analysed and compiled a list of 100 Digital Influencers of 2020 and Ratna Mehta, EVP, Wadhwani Catalyst Fund features 19th on this list.

Ratna writes mostly about business investment and women empowerment. She explains the importance of women in every business decision through her stories. Ratna mentions in one of her YourStory’s article that accelerating women entrepreneurship from the current 20 percent to 30 percent can create over 30 million women-owned enterprises by 2030.

“Women entrepreneurs can play an important role to drive economic growth by starting new businesses and contributing to the improvement in various key goals such as per capita income, innovation, the standard of living and community development.”

About Wadhwani Foundation:

Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org

Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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Top 8 in-demand employability skills for 2021 — Wadhwani Foundation

Greater adoption of technology means new in-demand skills across jobs replacing the existing ones over the next five years, despite the skills gaps remaining high.

By Sunil Dahiya

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a catastrophic blow to the global economy and resulted in a massive loss of lives and livelihoods. This economic and social disruption has destroyed millions of jobs and also put millions of enterprises at risk. A “Future of Jobs Report 2020” by World Economic Forum says that 85 million jobs may become redundant and 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025. This reskilling requirement will go up to 1 billion+ people by 2030. However, the report has a silver lining by estimating that even more jobs, i.e. 97 million will emerge that are more amenable to the interplay between humans, machines and algorithms.

Notably, the report highlights that in the next two years, 42% of the skills required to perform existing jobs will change with interpersonal skills gaining importance. The report cites critical thinking and problem-solving as the employers’ most favored skills over the next five years.

Greater adoption of technology means new in-demand skills across jobs replacing the existing ones over the next five years, despite the skills gaps remaining high. Since employability skills are at the heart of any successful business and career, the question on everybody’s mind is — Which of these skills are likely to be in demand in 2021? Some of the employability skills which are likely to gain prominence in 2021 are:

Analytical thinking & Complex problem solving

It’s about having the mental elasticity to solve problems not seen before and being able to solve them quickly and efficiently. More than 60% of recruiters identify problem-solving as a key determinant towards a favorable hiring decision. The very importance of problem-solving lies in the fact that it is intertwined with decision making and hence has the potential to impact almost all the functions within an organization.

Critical thinking and Analysis

Being a critical thinker is using logic and reasoning, after analyzing facts and possible solutions, to arrive at the aptest one. Employers value this skill as it leads to new, fresh and innovative ways to remove impediments to growth and productivity like mismanagement of finances, process inefficiencies, HR conflicts and streamlining of the distribution channel etc.

Innovation

It’s like being a mental gymnast with an ability to think in different ways and having cognitive flexibility — swing, leap and twirl back and forth between different systems of thought — seeing new patterns and making unique associations between ideas. Employers value innovation as a critical skill because innovators ensure that the organization is one step ahead of evolving workplace trends and technological advances. As a result, innovators are key to maximizing global connectivity and meeting consumer expectations.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence [EI] or Emotional Quotient [EQ] is a recent phenomenon and a new skill given high weightage by employers as it is seen to significantly impact self-motivation by processing and managing emotions, especially in terms of professional relationships and inter-personal communications. EI measures our adeptness to adjust behavior depending on the mood of a colleague, partner, or family member.

Negotiation

Knowingly or unknowingly, negotiation is an integral part of daily operations in any organization. Whether it is about finalizing a business deal to the best cost and timelines, allotting responsibilities for a project, or just deciding on the output of the day, you’re simply negotiating! So, better the negotiator you are, the better is the productivity and outcomes for the organization.

Leadership

It is the ability to motivate teams, maximize their productivity and respond to their needs. Leadership is more to do with the ability to delegate and develop a strong management style. A leader is valued as he has the ability to make quick and sharp decisions when push comes to shove while managing situations and people, especially in times of a crisis.

Creativity

Sometimes, looking at a problem differently can throw up a solution that can positively impact the organization. Employers have a keen eye for innovative, fresh and unorthodox talent to handle business challenges and internal issues. If you’re able to connect the dots across seemingly disparate information and come up with ‘new ideas and perspectives’, then you are a creative person.

Learning Agility

Learning Agility is basically finding a way to do things when you don’t know what to do! People who are learning agile are valued by organizations as they take complex challenges head-on and turn experiences into learnings and practices.

While the above-listed employability skills will be critical, the importance of few others like communication, customer centricity, digital and financial literacy would continue to be in demand even in the new normal as employers revisit their people strategy and enable a learning culture for higher outcomes, productivity and bottom lines.

About Wadhwani Foundation:

Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org

Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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Wadhwani Advantage supports small businesses | Wadhwani Foundation

Small and medium enterprises were already facing a challenging situation due to the global financial crisis. But the Corona epidemic made the situation even more difficult.

Wadhwani Advantage, an initiative of the Wadhwani Foundation, empowers small and medium businesses by maximizing their growth potential and helping them create high-value jobs with AI-powered business consulting services, Do-It-Yourself (DIY)’ tool kits, personalized knowledge resources, and a curated network of consultants, advisors, coaches, and mentors.

In its concerted effort towards achieving hyper-growth of SMEs, Wadhwani Advantage helped Aurangabad based SME, Excelize Software to develop its business further. Excelize Software Private Limited [ESPL] is a global architectural services firm that specializes in providing Building Information Modelling (BIM) & Design Management Services (DMS) to real estate developers, building contractors & architecture firms. It has a team strength of 80 with a presence in United States, Middle East, and India.

Experts at Wadhwani Advantage did a deep dive analysis and discovered three-fold areas of improvement in Excelize for propelling its growth trajectory i.e. Strategic Partnerships, Talent Management and Financial Management.

Excelize started implementing the growth plans in FY 2019 by investing in people, process and technology to enable growth and, as a result, ended FY 2019 with highest revenues and the biggest team size in its past 15+ years of existence. Although the pandemic caused ESPL to temporarily put on hold, its plans in first half of 2020, ESPL converted this challenge into an opportunity by using the pause in business for better planning and focusing its efforts on improving operational efficiencies, financial systems and undertaking marketing for business development.

Says Pratap Dhopte, Managing Director, Excelize Software Private Limited, “Our participation in the Wadhwani Advantage program has given us the confidence to dream about multi-fold growth and provided us the access to resources that we need to make it happen. We have found a partner who is for all purposes — the wind beneath our wings. We thank the Wadhwani Foundation for their encouragement, advice and wonderful support.”

Commenting on the engagement of Wadhwani Advantage with Excelize Software Shruti Upadhyaya, Senior Transformation Manager, Wadhwani Advantage said, “Excelize Software has been a benchmark SME with a clear desire and passion to grow and outrun its competitors. The vision of Pratap Dhopte, MD of Excelize and his team’s efforts towards implementing the growth strategy have been commendable. Excelize has been able to make a distinct mark in the domestic market and is successfully running its business in several international locations too.”

About Wadhwani Foundation:

Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org

Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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The rising significance of branding in the not-for-profit sector | Wadhwani Foundation

A non-profit brand strategy should focus on the brand as a strategic asset and necessarily drive cohesion and alignment to mission and objectives.

By Atul Raja

A cursory glance at some of the leading global non-profits and foundations reveals a paradigm shift in the way these organisations look at their brand management. Competitive advantage is not a prime driver here, but it’s the collaborations, networks and partnerships driven by a strong, empowered brand which plays an important role in the creation and engagement of like-minded communities.

The non-profit brand is more inclusive as in this sector it’s the mission, purpose and identity that speak the loudest and go on to create a strong platform for partnerships and networks that yield augmented impact. Therefore, a non-profit brand strategy should focus on the brand as a strategic asset and necessarily drive cohesion and alignment to mission and objectives, leverage internal capacity before undertaking outreach to engage external stakeholders.

Building a brand that helps a cause

Share of Voice (popularly known as SOV) is the buzzword in the FMCG and consumer durable space. However, in the absence of product lines, revenue orientation and big advertising budgets, branding in the not-for-profit space is anything but having the loudest voice in the market. It is more about building relationships and a community that believes in the same cause. Having worked for a no. of years in the non-profit space handling a global brand with high equity, here are my five mantras for building a durable, sustainable and leader brand in this sector.

Credibility is Paramount

Strong brand credentials are as important as the right and genuine intent to do social good. Earlier I spoke about the need to build a like-minded community and partnerships. High brand credibility will open the doors to this, and the best way to establish this is to “Be What You Are”.

Honest, transparent communication without any over claims always works. The work being done and the impact it creates is told better through the experience of the beneficiaries than chest-thumping by the organisation itself. The substantive difference being made in the lives of some or many is the most solid foundation that any brand can aspire for.

Thought Leadership is Critical

Non-profit branding is not just about the worldview of the brand but also how the ecosystem networks with your organisation. Thought Leadership is all about being innovative, forward-thinking, leading with ideas and hence being a trendsetter. In essence, a thought leader brand is a bank of ideas and knowledge that is seen as a resource by its ecosystem.

The brand and communication strategy to achieve thought leadership has to be driven on certain tenets:

always focus on the big idea

have a tone of voice that inspires

be data-focused with an empirical approach

evoke debates and policy actions through concrete suggestions

communicate in relevant forums

be an opinion leader in the media

create a community of the like-minded

Networking is Key

The world’s leading non-profit brands wouldn’t have been there today without having created strong networks. And these networks wouldn’t have been formed without the power of the Brand.

The branding and communication strategy plays a significant role in facilitating high-performance networks and partnerships that have synergies and common grounds. I am a witness to the power of networking and how communication and the brand not just attract the ecosystem but also keep it glued together. The effective portrayal of the brand and its ethos online and on social media platforms is an effective way to reach out to ecosystem, communicate the vision and mission and energise those who co-relate with your ideas, activities and desire to make a difference.

Technology for Scale and Connects

It’s an accepted fact that any significant scale-up is next to impossible without tech support. However, technology development can be an expensive and time-consuming process; therefore, this is not everyone’s cup of tea and becomes a natural brand differentiator. Any non-profit that harbours technology as a pillar for its expanding goals should therefore highlight this (in varied forms) in its communication along with the specific benefits.

Storytelling is a Must

Non-profit branding and communication are all about education and inspiration. For the brand to resonate with the social cause and the target audience simultaneously, meaningful stories that strike a chord are the best way to win hearts and create lasting communities and partnerships. A strong narrative approach enables different stakeholders to remain invested in the brand.

The impact of a strong non-profit brand

It’s not easy to turn a disinterested audience into loyal supporters. As a result, conventional form of brand building is now passe in the non-profit space, and there is a strong acknowledgement of the role that brand development can play in cultivating that much-desired extra-special bonding, and emotive connects which donors, partners, and internal stakeholders have with the mission of non-profits.

A strong non-profit brand means a strong capacity. When the brand identity and internal perceptions of a non-profit brand match with its external image, it means that both internal and external stakeholders are aligned with its values and mission. It also means that the branding and communication have done their task!

About Wadhwani Foundation:

Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org

Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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Setting up a Manufacturing Unit

https://youtu.be/QSnN6SLWWqc

Setting up a manufacturing unit is almost like building your house, and if you are a first generation entrepreneur, it is going to be a truly challenging and equally intense learning process. Manufacturing processes come in all shapes and sizes and require a substantial commitment. Often, manufacturing calls for notable and upfront financial investment for complex equipment, raw material and manpower with special skills. You must brace to deal with a broad array of responsibilities concurrent with the multiple steps of a manufacturing process.

MACHINERY: The first and imperative decision that no one else but you need to take is based on your plans of expansion or scale intended in the coming five years from commencing the unit operations. The planning for required quantity and capacity of machines ultimately depends on the scale-up outlook. Further, one must also account for the number and type of machines required for production as the device providers have own lead time for delivery. Hence, one needs to take into account the total time required from ordering to delivery and installation of machines. While finalising the machines the time needed for maintenance or error corrections in case of any breakdown needs to be factored in as service plays a significant role in the production process. This might encourage you to find a local vendor of machines.

RAW MATERIAL: An important factor to take into account while setting up the unit is the nature of proposed product line and dynamics of this product category as the volume, perishability and other characteristics of raw material required play a key role in finalizing the space and warehousing requirements.

AVAILABLE INFRASTRUCTURE: While choosing the factory space, one must ensure the availability of required Electric Power Load availability. Otherwise, you may incur the extra heavy cost of procuring additional electric load. One must also be sure of other factors like availability/accessibility of labour, vendors and logistics as these are essential elements that play a crucial role in defining the day to day operational cost.

FACILITY LAYOUT: You must hire a good factory consultant at the second stage to plan your facility layout and correctly estimate the space required for the manufacturing facility. An expert consultant will automatically design the layout as conforming to 5S (focused on visual order, organisation, cleanliness and standardization) and Kaizen (a system of continual improvement as a component of lean manufacturing). This will ensure an efficient assembly line regarding smooth flow and movement, minimal wastage and time-saving operations.

LICENSING: While all this is being taken care of, one must find out the licenses and approvals required for commencing factory operations as it varies from state to state. Factory License is one such license that is must in all states. And do not forget to take a hard look at environmental regulations, if any. To get necessary licensing approvals may be time-consuming and hence to plan in advance for the same can be a major factor in meeting launch timelines.

I would like to advise that any entrepreneur should get completely involved in all the processes of factory establishment as it this is a task full of daunting challenges. Finally, you need to find a process or market which is unserved or undeserved. Get commitment from multiple customers before you jump. A streamlined manufacturing process complemented by strong market demand is a win-win.

About Wadhwani Foundation:

Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org

Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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Digital Marketing is increasingly essential for startup growth - Wadhwani Foundation

The number of mobile internet users in India has reached 371 million by June 2016, and is on track to cross 500 million users by next year. The fast-growing internet penetration in India is exhibited by the fact that it has surpassed the U.S to become the second largest internet user market after China. Many Indians easily spend about 2–3 hours daily browsing the internet on their mobile phones. Thus, many decisions of a growing generation of savvy Indians are internet-driven. We can, therefore, safely presume that the solution to many a problem is well researched on the internet today.

Digital Marketing assumes paramount importance in an increasingly digital world. For startups, this is even more relevant as an aggressive but judicious use of the digital media can assist in:

Leveraging various digital and social platforms that the target audience spends time on

Easily reaching out the target audience — at the click of a button

Reaching out to the target audience at minimal cost

Targeted marketing and lead generation through scientific means and available analytics

Gauging the success and failure of campaigns and being able to make mid-way corrections

Engaging with the target audience; digital media is most amenable to create and sustain engagements through both organic and paid techniques

Creating a blend of brand and product/conversion campaigns through targeted marketing

Measurement of campaigns which allows for analysing the value of each rupee spent

While dwelling on digital marketing, one cannot miss its heart and soul i.e. content creation and curation. Although it is universally acknowledged that “content is king”, one of the most overlooked investments while launching a startup is content marketing! Smart, engaging and compelling content generates excitement, elicits customer response, facilitates conversions and creates a top-notch equity than can catapult your brand towards wide acceptance.

Two critical factors in favor of online marketing vis-à-vis offline are its its cost effectiveness and ability to reduce wastage factor while trying to reach the target audience. Let’s talk about the Sunday newspaper which you enjoy reading with a hot cup of tea! The quarter page to full page print ads of real estate, E-Commerce, FMCG products etc assume that they will garner eyeballs of 30–40 lakh but then how many of these are your relevant audience? How many are in the considered set of being inclined towards making a purchase? Maybe a few thousand. This is where the value of digital marketing comes into the picture. Every marketing budget should have a revenue goal, and digital marketing as a tool not only helps you to measure spends better but also eliminates the wastage factor to a large extent.

Digital marketing gives the freedom to every beginner for running brand and product campaigns with manageable budgets. Startups don’t have millions to spend on marketing and advertising, and have a ‘lean’ approach. So, make a small start, measure outcomes, take corrective measures and engage with a whole new world of digital enthusiasts! And you may have taken the baby steps towards achieving your dreams.

About Wadhwani Foundation:

Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org

Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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Wadhwani Foundation

Wadhwani Foundation is a not-for-profit with the primary mission of accelerating economic development in emerging economies by driving job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, innovation, and skilling. Founded in 2000 by Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Dr Romesh Wadhwani, today the Foundation is scaling impact in 20 countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes through the below Initiatives:

Wadhwani Advantage: Empowers small business entrepreneur with AI-enabled business management and business consulting services to maximize their growth potential.

Wadhwani Entrepreneur: Inspires, educates, and enables startup entrepreneurs.

Wadhwani Inspire: Establishes a culture of entrepreneurship at a national level

Wadhwani NEN: Empowers students with knowledge and skills through Courses, Startup Labs and Practice Ventures to create high-potential startups

Wadhwani Venture Fastrack: Maximizes success rates of early-stage startups with enhanced business traction and funding opportunities

Wadhwani Opportunity: Provides 21st-century employability skills to millions of job-seeking students and empowers them with family-supporting wages.

Wadhwani Innovate: Accelerates large-scale innovation in academia and industry through innovation grants in partnership with governments and other organizations.

Wadhwani Catalyst Fund, Wadhwani Technology Platform, Wadhwani Academy, Wadhwani Institute of Technology and Policy & Wadhwani Market Research and Policy support the Foundation’s Initiatives.

Wadhwani Winning Values:

Give Forward  — Wear your passion on your sleeve  — Give with a smile  — Share knowledge unselfishly  — Think Impact, not activity

Together Is Better  — Partner around purpose  — Network actively  — Be super-responsive  — Reach out; solve together

Make It Large  — Think big & beyond  — Considered risk-taking  — Embrace agile — test, learn, scale  — Empower down the line

With You All The Way — Proactively engage to support  — Partner across the life cycle  — Measure success, assess impact  — Digital for lifelong engagement

About Wadhwani Foundation: Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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Failure is one of the most unpleasant human experiences. As such, our parental instinct vehemently attempts to avert failure for our children, not realising that in doing so, we are depriving our kids of two very critical life skills –resilience and grit. Both resilience and grit are nurtured through repeated failures. Encountering frequent failures and learning not to succumb to them builds resilience. Repeatedly trying after each failure develops an unfailing grit.

The absence of resilience could potentially lead to severe depression and devastation when our children encounter a destructive failure in their lives, such as losing a loved one or being heartbroken in a relationship. On the other hand, no Olympian or entrepreneur has ever attained a meaningful feat without encountering and rising beyond repeated failures. The idea of “failing fast to succeed faster” must, therefore, be introduced early in life.

There are many examples of people who achieved greatness, but not without encountering multiple setbacks along the way. Take for example, Thomas Edison, now described as “America’s Greatest Inventor”, who failed more often than he succeeded. He is famously quoted to have said, “I have not failed 10,000 times — I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” Similarly, Henry Ford went bankrupt twice before he became a titan of the industry. Even Walt Disney lost a job as a newspaper editor because apparently, “he was not creative enough”. JK Rowling was jobless, divorced, broke and had a child to support before she sold more than a hundred million copies of Harry Potter to become one of the most successful authors of our time. Wimbledon star Andy Murray once said, “I’m not scared of failing. I fail all the time.”

While the world works hard at making failure obsolete, I believe, as parents, we would do a service to our children if we designed failure into our parenting. Our children are our biggest contribution to society. They are the next generation of citizens that will shape the world. Thus, nothing can be more important than to develop their minds to be the kind of people that the world needs — not those that succumbed to failure and are a burden on society, but those that rise beyond failure and change the world for the better.

Providing children with the skills for turning failure into a stepping stone toward personal development is as important as a classical college education. For only those that are trained to bend and not break will learn to use these failures to their advantage, while the untrained might find their lives suddenly much more challenging and unfulfilling.

Here are a few simple things we can do to design failure into raising our kids. During their baby years, don’t be too zealous to prevent falls and don’t rush to pick them up when they trip. Don’t immediately go to their rescue when they are pushed in the park. Don’t play defence council when they face snarky comments in school. Let them figure out ways to rise from these mishaps. Set “bound-for-failure” targets in activities such as selling lemonades on a winter day or raising funds to support charities. That kind of thing. The idea is to keep designing new failure mechanisms during their growth years.

We discovered that competitive sports and entrepreneurship provided built-in opportunities for repeated failures and used them on our kids. In sports, before you succeed at increasing levels of competition, you fail a million times, so we prioritised competitive sports over studies during our kids’ early school years. As they matured, we introduced small doses of high school, and college-level entrepreneurship that enabled them to not only earn their pocket money but, given entrepreneurship is fraught with failures, provided them with multiple doses of failures during their growing years. Entrepreneurship also taught them how to understand failure and mould it into progress.

Kids exposed to repeated failures — once they make it through these situations — will start designing failure into their lives in the form of responsible risk-taking and will use this as a tool to make themselves better citizens. And depending upon their capacity to accept failure, some could turn into world-class leaders and contributors to society. In building capacity to fail, you have, in many ways, already begun the journey to success.

By Dr. Ajay Kela is President and CEO, Wadhwani Foundation

About Wadhwani Foundation: Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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https://youtu.be/e-z9ILPT-Ns

I run a startup that provides fund-raising solutions to entrepreneurs, and a perplexing question that is often put across to me is — DEBT or EQUITY financing?

Each time a startup succeeds, it aspires for more success in the near future. Moreover, today the parameter of success is equated with the capital that stands in accounting books. Many startups fail to take corrective decision to raise funds optimally and end up with larger cost in the form of Interest that reduces their profit and adds to liabilities. Most entrepreneurs believe that equity is a cheaper source of finance, but as a chartered accountant, I like to draw their attention towards the fact that in many situations, debt is actually the cheaper source of finance. The question arises, how? In equity suppose you have earned Rs. 100 but you will end up paying Rs. 30 to the tax department and be left with only Rs. 70. However, in case of debt financing you will enjoy the following benefits:

1. You have to pay interest on only the amount which you have taken as loan 2. You can pay off the loan in the desired no. of instalments

Debt financing allows new startups to pay for buildings, equipment and other assets for growing their business much before the projected earnings begin to materialize. Hence, this can be an excellent way to pursue an aggressive growth strategy, especially with access to low-interest rates. Closely related is the advantage of paying off the debt in instalments over a period. Compared with the equity financing, debt financing benefits can be enjoyed by not relinquishing any ownership or control of the business.

However, before raising funds, you should be ready with answers to the following questions that will facilitate the process:

1. How much money is needed to run/initiate the business? 2. How will the money be used i.e. disbursement criteria? 3. What is the collateral security and its value? 4. Who will be the guarantor? 5. How will the loan be repaid?

A startup at initial stages obviously will not have multiple properties to be provided as collateral. However, this should not be a worry as in such cases you can opt for the option of ‘collateral-less debt financing’.

Understanding this fundamental problem of startups, the government has launched the CGFSIL scheme where new startups can acquire a loan from ‘Startup India, Stand Up India’ initiative. They can go for composite loans (inclusive of the term loan and working capital between Rs. 10 lacs to Rs. 100 lacs) and can enjoy benefits of lower interest rates as compared to other banks (i.e. MCLR +3% + Tenure).

Thus, think big, explore new ideas, innovate your future and forget the rest because there are measures available to help you to fulfil your dreams. Debt financing is the key to your successful business provided you have a good enough credit rating and the financial discipline to make repayments on time. However, by agreeing to provide collateral to the lender, you may be putting some business assets at potential risk. Hence, a note of caution is obvious.

About Wadhwani Foundation: Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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Davos to Delhi, Ludhiana to Trichy and Guwahati to Surat — the chorus to create jobs and develop skills seems to be getting louder by the day. With “disruption” set to become the word of the year 2017, the recently concluded deliberations at the World Economic Forum issued a wakeup call to develop talents. India got its mandate very loud and clear, given its 92nd rank on Global Talent Competitiveness Index in a 2017 report published by INSEAD.

A jobless growth of the Indian economy at 7 percent makes the issue even more severe. The employment elasticity is on a decline (0.15 in 2015, i.e. for every PPT growth in GDP 0.15 ppt growth happens in employment) and the working age population is growing by an additional 100 million by 2025. Therefore, India stands at crossroads today as it aspires to reap a demographic dividend. However, it is not a one-dimensional problem. It is a multitude of complex structural issues and disconnects. There are jobs, but no skills and vice versa. Moreover, there are jobs, but no family supporting wages. The clock is ticking away, and it is time we view this as a composite problem; not just solving a problem in isolation, but skills that lead to jobs, which offer family-supporting wages.

Vocationalization of education at school level is therefore critical to uplift a large population, so that we can make a successful transition from a society that values “what do you know” to “what can you do”; a transition from haphazard development of skills to developing the right skills at the right place and time in required numbers. And skills not for the sake of skills, but for helping the youth to get a job, stay on the job and make progress on the job. The linkage with end outcome is critical because every year more than 5 million out of 9 million stop at 12th grade and for Government schools, this percentage is badly skewed.

And this number is only going to get worse. There is even a larger drop in government schools at 9th and 10th grades. A 10th or 12th-grade education would only command very low starting and lifetime wages in this modern economy, leading to unhappy and unstable families. Many jobs, such as nurses’ aides, home health care workers, beautician, automotive mechanics, back office employees do not require a college degree but a high school student with 12–18 months of vocational training could command INR 12K and above with a defined career path.

Government school students are often academically (not great support at home) and financially challenged and hence most vulnerable to struggle through a life of low wages. Introducing a vocational stream, as an extra subject, in government high schools provide the opportunity for these students to exit the system with sufficient job skills to command reasonable entry-level jobs and a defined growth path.

While there has been a focus and effort to introduce skilling at school levels for a few years now, the results are far from satisfactory. According to the Labour Bureau Report 2014, the skilled workforce in India is only 2 percent. This baseline needs to improve if we are to transform this space and there is no better place than schools, where we can catch them young and shape young minds to embrace vocational education, improve employability skills and opt to go for a deep vocational education and training.

Job creation and skills development have been at the core of Wadhwani Foundation (WF), ever since it was set-up in 2003. Its mission is to create jobs and impact lives. And accordingly, it has been associated with the ‘centrally sponsored scheme of vocationalisation of secondary and higher secondary education’ from 2012.

WF involvement started with the state of Haryana, and since then has been expanded to include several states — Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Delhi and Odisha. A significant scaling has happened in these states, varying anywhere between over 500 to more than 1000 schools. While the scale is welcome and required to have an impact in a large country like India, the rapid scale of a new program needs much preparedness.

The program implementations need to have a singular focus on jobs as outcomes measured through metric of placement rates and wages. There has to be a maniacal emphasis on data collection and measurement of impact of various interventions (content, faculty and industry programs) on student placement rate and level of wages, a continued mechanism to improve performance (placement and wages) of interventions. This objectivity and focus can really help make that difference.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house

About Wadhwani Foundation: Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a great way to demonstrate and prove that prospective customers are now searching for your brand name which is a great thing. SEO efforts are directly reflected and measured by the increasing quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results. The essence of SEO is to create title tags and meta descriptions which are keyword relevant, and which show up in the result pages. Optimizing of tags and descriptions enhances the ‘click through rate’ leading to qualified web traffic.

An SEO-led brand strategy is usually effective in most cases due to the several advantages it offers:

Inexpensive: Reaching our across borders to far corners of the globe with the same keywords

Sustainable: Unlike conventional advertising where the results show an immediate drop once the campaign is stopped, the results of SEO continue to accrue in the short-run

Increased ROI: Higher conversion rates (that are measurable) at lower cost lead to better ROI prospects

Increased Brand Awareness : Healthy SEO co-ordinates lead to a high ranking of your website which means more traffic, more eye-balls and more awareness

Customer Analysis: SEO-led traffic facilitates a better understanding of the customer in terms of demographics and preferences. In some cases, this may even lead to re-defining of the Target Audience definition

No wonder that today 30% to 75% of the traffic in e-commerce websites like Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal or even others like Zomato and Makemytrip is SEO-driven. The wonderful part is that “SEO brings intent based traffic that converts well.”

All startups should focus on the below elements while undertaking SEO:

Research: A thorough research of competitors’ sites allows for specific planning to rank above their websites on the first page. Site structure, navigation, schema markup and layout are key to search visibility of a website

Original and Frequent Content: Keeping the content original and fresh will have a significant impact on search results. A focused product/service led approach should be a priority when it comes to building a successful SEO campaign

Mobile Friendly: It is crucial for websites to be mobile friendly (read responsive) in today’s smartphone-led world. This not only helps increase the traffic-stickiness but also gets you an extra SEO point

A Fast Loading Website: It is equally important to have fast loading time for the website offering an excellent navigation experience to the users. Image optimisation and fixing of broken links are key here. Google is trying to make a better web which means that your website should load more quickly and be straightforward and easy to navigate. This will ensure that the user time on the website increases

It will not be apt to sum up without the caveat that the “only constant in SEO is change”. It is very important to keep track of the regular algorithm changes and new technology updates by major search engines like Google to leverage SEO efforts to its maximum potential. When it comes to SEO, “New, Faster and Better” is the buzzword!

About Wadhwani Foundation: Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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Do Startup Founders Need Personal Branding?

“Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room”- Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon

If you are a startup founder, it means that you have a product or service in developmental phase, and for this to start selling people need to be aware of it. For any business, the first customers come from family, friends and their referrals. It means that your network and how you are known in it matters. Before we discuss details, let’s understand what a personal brand is about and how it can affect your business?

Understanding Personal Branding

A personal brand is all about the way people perceive you. It is a reflection of the individual you are and the one you are aspiring to become. A personal brand is a sum of components that make you noticeable and recognizable in your spheres of influence. Creating a personal brand is like developing a lifestyle. It is a slow and an ongoing process. The consistency with which you portray yourself online or in person determines the speed with which you can create a strong personal brand.

Personal Branding, therefore, displays the blend of your personality traits, passion, views, performance and contribution to your clients, customers and other stakeholders. Hence, it is one of the most important pull strategies that you can adopt for developing brand equity of your product line.

Benefits of Personal Branding to a Startup

Personal branding helps startup founders in building their credibility. It is a leadership requirement that adds weight to the measure of their dedication as a professional. It makes their business appear more human and helps attract business opportunities on investment, collaborations and growth. A founder plays many roles. He/she is the face of the firm; sometimes a salesperson, sometimes a brand evangelist. Hence, a strong personal branding of the founder facilitates success in business.

The digital era is making personal branding more important than ever. Imagine a customer or an investor being able to easily find your competitor on the very first instance of google search.This scenario could be detrimental to any business. However, in case the face of the business and his/her personal branding elicits a recall and credibility, you have a head-start over the competition!

Tips for Building Your Personal Brand

Startup founders are always short of time. We can find them working endlessly and running a daily marathon. Adding personal branding effort to their daily to-do list can do wonders for their business in the long term. Here is a list of simple things that startup founders can begin with.

Introspect: Find time for an introspection session. Help yourself understand who you are and what you would like to become. This will help you develop an image that you would mirror into the personal brand of yours.

Build and maintain your online presence: Become active on social media platforms. You will need to balance your personal and business-related updates so that others develop an outlook of you as an individual as well as a professional. Use your LinkedIn profile optimally.

Share your knowledge and expertise: Irrespective of your aspiration in life and the industry that you are into, cultivate the habit of reading. It helps to add to your knowledge bank and enables sharing of your views and expertise. Increasing your participation on Quora can help you gain many followers thereby making you a thought leader in your industry. Blogging on content sharing sites like Medium helps a lot. Guest blogging on sites having high footfalls is always beneficial for any online business. Look for and grab every opportunity for an interview or authorship.

Startup founders keep looking for ways and means to take their businesses to new heights. Regardless of whatever stage their business is in, a strong personal brand can make it easy for them to walk down the entrepreneurial path. Take small personal branding steps every day and get ready to feel the difference it makes.

About Wadhwani Foundation: Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation

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Legal Compliance for Startups

Complying with various regulations in India haunts every startup. In general, compliance means conforming to a rule, such as a specification, policy and standard or law. Regulatory compliance describes the goal that organisations aspire to achieve and the steps taken to comply with relevant laws and regulations.

Due to the increasing number of regulations and the need for operational transparency, organizations are increasingly adopting the use of consolidated and harmonized sets of compliance controls. Compliance and its importance are often overlooked by many startups new to the business ecosystem simply because they are not aware of the existing laws. Ignorance may not be bliss in such cases as it affects a startup’s viability and attractiveness to a potential investor.

As the Indian startups are growing, the need for complying with rules and regulations is also becoming necessary. It depends on the nature and size of the business. The entrepreneurs must first know the laws and regulations which they need to comply with.

Pre-incorporation compliances required to be followed to start a new business includes Registration of firm or company, Name approval and Allocation of Designation. For post incorporation compliance, the company needs to apply for PAN and TAN of the company, register for the stock exchange and make payments of various taxes which are levied on the company. These taxes include DIRECT TAXES: Income Tax, Wealth Tax, Corporate Tax and INDIRECT TAXES: Excise duty, service Tax, customs duty, VAT etc.

But after applicability of GST ACT from 1st July, 2017 startups need to register themselves within 30 days of the act being applicable on them and need to pay CGST (Central Goods and Services Tax) and SGST (State Goods and Services Tax) on goods and services.

The next obvious question is — How to Comply?

Become familiar with your business and the applicable regulations

The basic thing which an entrepreneur must understand is the knowledge of legislation/Acts that are applicable to his business. There are countless national, state and foreign regulations which may impact the business immediately or in the near future.

Demonstrate investment of thought and efforts into formulating a compliance plan

Written policies and procedures should explain the mechanisms for effective compliance to all your employees and any auditors or regulators. (your compliance controls will change and improve over time). A Compliance Officer should be designated (required in some cases) to create a culture of compliance.

Document and maintain key compliance related information

Your company should have an appropriate and well-organized record keeping system (whether hard or soft copy). Documentation should include your written policies and protocols (including previous and current versions), reports and communications with authorities, and case files if needed.

Scale your compliance program to be growth-ready

As your business expands to other cities, states, and countries, start reviewing the agencies and regulations that may impact you. Consider legal counsel to navigate potentially complex foreign regulations. A new array of risks accompanies cross-border transactions, whether in the form of money, goods, or information.

About Wadhwani Foundation: Wadhwani Foundation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, with the primary mission of accelerating #job creation in India and other emerging economies through large-scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, small business growth, #innovation, and #skilling. The Wadhwani Foundation operates in 20 countries, including India, South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana), Egypt, and Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile). The Wadhwani Foundation works in partnership with governments, foundations, corporations, and educational institutes.

To know more about Wadhwani Foundation and its Initiatives: https://www.wfglobal.org Click here to subscribe WF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J1yxr4VDX5KbkACBhMMQA

Connect with us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadhwanifoundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/WadhwaniF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wadhwanifoundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadhwanifoundation