Mumbai: The two-day 21st Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) 2017 summit concluded successfully. The WIFE 2017 saw some trend setting perspectives on innovation in the Indian business environment led by influential business tycoons, such as Mr Adi Godrej, Mr Adil Zainulbhai, Prof. Kartik Hosanagar, Ms Shaheen Mistri, Mr Sandeep Singhal, Mr Zorawar Kalra, Mr Kunal Shah, Ms Bharati Jacob and Ms Arundhati Bhattacharya to name a few.
The first day of the summit saw a competition for emerging startups where they are in race for prize money and mentorship to grow their businesses. More than 450 entries with 10 finalists have participated the competition. Detect Technologies, an IoT-based startup that works towards enhancing productivity in industries, and HELPUSGREEN, a Kanpur-based social enterprise that preserves river Ganges by flower-cycling the waste from temples and mosques into patented lifestyle products, emerged as the big winners of the night.
This was followed by a speaker series on Entrepreneurship by Mr Rohan Mirchandani, Wharton Alumni, Co-Founder Drums Food International and Mr Kunal Kapoor, Actor, co-founder Ketto.
Aman Jain, Chair, Wharton India Economic Forum, said, “We had some fantastic startups competing in the competition this year. The level of innovation and disruption being borne from India was great to see and gave the jury a tough task in selecting the finalist and the final winner of the competition. Our aim is to provide a platform for startups to showcase innovation and disruption they bring to their respective industries, and this year we saw many dynamic and path-breaking startups presenting their case.”
Surabhi Jain, Director, WIEF added, “We were happy that a student-run conference got this much attention and appreciation. We are thankful for the encouraging words from the audience, speakers and Wharton Professors.”
The final day of the summit included an inaugural by Mr Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group , and a key note by Ms Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, State Bank of India along with other influential business personalities discussing different perspectives on this year’s theme at WIEF ‘Innovate to Grow in India’.
Addressing the Industry Keynote on The Digital Future of Indian Economy, Ms Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, State Bank of India said, “In India’s digital future, digital banking is definitely a constitute, but to say that digital banking is India’s digital future is a vast oversimplification.” During her keynote address, she shared her views on what the digital economy is in the historical context, comparing the position of India vis-à-vis the West in terms of digital technology adoption, to understand how India’s future is getting shaped, concluded by raising a few questions which need answering as India embraces digital revolution.
