13 December, 2017
IIM Calcutta Innovation Park in association with the TATA group hosted the Thinking Social Seminar at the International Management Institute, on 4th Dec,2017. The primary objective of this event was to build awareness on social entrepreneurship, generating interest and inspiring the youth to come up with innovative solutions to prevalent social challenges. The speakers at the seminar comprised of eminent and social entrepreneurs, investors and members of the academic field being individuals who have been accredited of having established their own outstanding ventures creating a strong social impact. The panel at the event comprised of seasoned entrepreneurs including Dileep Kumar (Tata Power Delhi), Suman Mukhopadhyay(Director – Banglanatak.com), Arun Nagpal (Founder – Mrida), Anirban Gupta(Founder – Dhriiti), Pawan Mehrotra(Founder – Aarna Biomedical Products Pvt. Ltd) and Neha Arora(Founder – Planet Abled).
Mr. Dileep Kumar cheered the inaugural session mentioning the activities TATA Group had undertaken till date. Mr. Suman Mukhopadhay enlightened the audience about aspects of Social Entrepreneurship and relevance of smart solutions to solve development challenges, Clarity was brought about to the concept of ‘social entrepreneurs’ being entrepreneurs who aim to solve prevalent societal problems, either for-profit or non profit..
Mr. Arun Nagpal spoke about his journey as an entrepreneur . His journey that started a decade ago wherein he believed that not all the solutions to India’s problems could come from the government or a body Corporate. Mr. Nagpal stated that he believed in solutions to prevalent social issues to be brought about by entrepreneurs, individuals who have had a strong relationship with an issue and are committed to designing a solution for it. Explaining his venture ‘Mrida’ having its nomenclature roots in Sanskrit which meant ‘Soil’ Mr. Nagpal explained that, the single word encapsulates what they stand for which would be working at the ground level, close to the soil, their work being directed mainly the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) individuals being their core customers.
Speaking about his venture Anirban Gupta Founder of ‘Dhriiti – The Courage Within’ an NGO (social enterprise) registered under the Societies Act of 1860 established in December 2004 by Anirban and two other members. Anirban elaborated about Observing the problem of unemployment and underemployment in the country at large, and contemplating on how these problems could be tackled in the long run as well as providing immediate solutions .. He inferred that the problem of unemployment, disguised unemployment and underemployment cannot be dealt with, at all levels by creating more jobs in the government and the high investment public/ private sector.
The Founder believes that self-employment and entrepreneurship is an important tool to counter the problem of widespread unemployment and underemployment in the country. The core idea behind Dhriiti as he spoke was the spirit of entrepreneurship that we want to promote, introduce and inculcate. Dhriiti works from the two ends of the continuum to spread a culture of entrepreneurship.
Mr.Pawan Mehrotra Founder of Aarna Biomedical Products Pvt. Ltd a social entrepreneurship start-up, shared his experience and journey as an entrepreneur.
Neha Arora Founder of Planet Abled affirmed that the world is nostalgic, whether we just feel it through our five senses or experience it wandering on a wheel chair or our own feet. She said and we quote “This world is for everybody, whosoever it is. We should explore the world with an open mind, without any hindrance”.
Further explaining her inspiration for her venture Neha spoke “My personal not so good travel experiences as a daughter of parents with disabilities led to the inception of Planet Abled. Mfather is blind and mother is a wheelchair user, but we all are fond of traveling.” The zeal to travel but the difficulties that she had faced while travelling lead her to break every barriers and create her own travel agency for disabled people.
The seminar concluded with an interactive Q & A session, where questions were posed by the students and faculty members.
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