The Global Trade Summit 2011 is being held in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota (USA), on August 25 and 26.
The ICC held a meeting with entrepreneurs and academicians in Mumbai last week to drum up support for the upcoming global summit and to discuss the chamber and its forthcoming activities.
The meeting with ICC President Seann Nelipinath was attended by established and aspiring entrepreneurs, senior professors of some of Mumbai's most prestigious colleges and management graduates, among others.
In particular, woman entrepreneurship was highlighted during the meeting. The participants discussed the prospects of setting up a Women's Business Council in India, where both individuals and organisations could be members, thus making themselves eligible for a plethora of benefits.
This initiative would provide the members higher credibility and support for their ventures. Individuals from any profession could be a part of this council and could thus pursue extensive research across industries, foreign tie-ups for their entrepreneurial ventures and other aspirations.
With regard to women's entrepreneurship, there are many opportunities but few takers in the said field, given social, economic and other disparities.
That said, the potential is immense and so the chamber aspires to manage a council that would not only tap this potential but also scale it to greater heights with its strategies, resources and training efforts.
The chamber will also be launching an internship programme for a period of six months to a year and has invited institutions and students to explore opportunities for engagement.
This internship would hone the leadership and communication skills which are required for success due to the emerging changes in global business patterns of today.
In this regard, Nelipinath met with T K A Nair, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, to extend an invitation to attend the event in Minnesota as a distinguished guest of honour and keynote speaker for a special forum on 'Investment and Financing opportunities in India'.
Nair, who plans to travel to the United States in September, has accepted the invitation and is expected to attend this forum on September 23. Nelipinath also briefed the Principal Secretary about the upcoming Global Trade Summit and the chamber's initiatives to undertake and promote business services relations with India, Canada, Mexico and other countries.
Nelipinath also met with the Sanjay Dalmia, the Chairman of Dalmia Brothers (Group of Companies), and discussed a couple of investment opportunities in India and US that were of significant interest to both sides.
He also held meetings with various business houses and chamber leaders such as Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC) President Arvind Pradhan, Indo-American Society (IAS) President Snehal Muzoomdar and Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce (MCCIA) Industries and Agriculture Executive Director General Anant Sardeshmukh.
During his visit, Nelipinath also visited Gujarat, where he invited Chief Minister Narendra Modi to be Chief Guest and the Keynote Speaker on the 'Business Potential in Gujarat' at the Global Trade Summit. Modi has accepted the invitation and is likely to be represented by a business delegation led by the Industry Minister.
Nelipinath also discussed some key products and services with the Chief Minister that the CM tagged as "of significant interest to Gujarat".
Nelipinath also met with Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI) President Mahendra Patel and former President Chintanbhai Parekh, along with director members from the board. The India Chamber of Commerce and GCCI are signing an MOU as partners for the summit and for ongoing projects.
Nelipinath also had talks with Pune Police Commissioner Meera Borwankar about opportunities in training, exchange of personnel, shared resources and products that could help tackle security threats through potential business-to-business partner city relationships between Mumbai, Pune and Navi Mumbai and Minneapolis, St Paul and Burnsville.
Another highlight of Nelipinath's visit was his meeting with Gurdip Singh Anand, the Principal Founder, Chairman and MD of Universal Business School. Nelipinath invited Anand to be a part of the panel of education during the summit and discussed a variety of exchange programmes with him. A potential MoU is also under discussion with the chamber.