Written by Michelle Erdin
The first day of the Preparatory Seminar of the International Student Projects started very promising with excellent speakers. The first day stood in the light of Focus India.
Roadmap to India with Philippe Reich, Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce (SICC)
Philippe Reich, Chairman of SICC
gave an introduction into SICC’s mandate and the Swiss perspective of
doing business India. SICC foster Swiss-Indian bilateral economic and
business relations and serves as an advisory role for its members to set
foot in India. He pointed out a key difference of Indians and Swiss
approach business. Indians are more opportunity oriented whereas Swiss
assess the risk before taking a decision. He emphasised on some of the
challenges the Swiss may face when considering to enter the Indian
market. Pivotal to success in the Indian market is to think long-term,
identifying market potential, assessing possible partnerships and find
mutual interests.
Open discussion with Michael Enderle – how to conquer the Indian market
Michael Enderle brings along 12 years of experience in living and working in India. We had a fruitful dialogue with Michael talking about his experience of setting up a business in India. Michael stressed the importance to have the right team in place that is built upon trust. Only then it’s possible to solve the even most complex problems. Before any Swiss company should enter India, they ought to have a clearly defined strategy in place, a solid financial base and a reliable and trusted team. Establishing trust is crucial and requires much relationship management. Without a trustworthy network success will be difficult to achieve. Being mindful of family importance is also of great importance. What we can learn from Indians are the entrepreneurial spirit that drive them to achieve their goals.
Indian Culture and History by Aradhna SethiEtiquette and Behaviour by Suki Dusanj
Aradhna Sethi and Suki Dusanj gave interactive talks on India’s culture and history, that prepared us well for our onsite trip in March and April. Aradhna explained to us the caste system and how it is impacting people’s lives today compared to the past. Suki Dusanj advised us on appropriate behaviour in India. She encouraged us to be open-minded, not judging, respectful and to be polite but firm.
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