Transcripts from interaction with Mr. Kumar Ankit
Passion, People, Perseverance, Positivism - these are the 4 P’s one must have to be a social entrepreneur according to Mr. Kumar Ankit. One might have several doubts and questions in mind about starting one’s own venture. Ankit tried to address some of these worries through the story of his entrepreneurial venture.
Ankit had a passion for bringing change in the lives of underprivileged by being a part of the system through a profit making business model. Free time during his college days gave him the opportunity to get himself acquainted with several policies and schemes of the government in agriculture, public policy and rural development. The National Bio-fuel Policy of 2008 got his attention and he wanted to do something by utilizing the policy to pursue his dream. When the government announced the introduction of MGNREGA scheme, Ankit got the idea of having plantations of Pongamia, a bio-fuel plant, through the labour force of MGNREGA and build a business model by bringing it under the bio-fuel policy. Ankit shared his journey of the establishing his venture by working with the government. He mentioned the difficulties he faced - a missing coma in a policy, the red-tapes of bureaucracy and the policy gaps like politicians and bureaucrats being unaware of policies, no revision of price of bio-fuels, inhibition of direct engagement for dealership with the railways etc.
Some useful tips from the entrepreneur:
1. Start your venture as early as possible – you will have lesser problems when you are young
2. Use your MBA knowledge to become an entrepreneur – analyse your idea for your course projects
3. Build Network Quotient – nothing helps in forming your venture better than a good network
4. Burn the Bridges – take risk and make that big leap forward and start it
As per him the following sectors in agribusiness have a lot of untapped potential:
If you are thinking of starting some venture of yours in the field of agribusiness, you now have a good idea of where and how you could start.
Passion, People, Perseverance, Positivism - these are the 4 P’s one must have to be a social entrepreneur according to Mr. Kumar Ankit. One might have several doubts and questions in mind about starting one’s own venture. Ankit tried to address some of these worries through the story of his entrepreneurial venture.
Ankit had a passion for bringing change in the lives of underprivileged by being a part of the system through a profit making business model. Free time during his college days gave him the opportunity to get himself acquainted with several policies and schemes of the government in agriculture, public policy and rural development. The National Bio-fuel Policy of 2008 got his attention and he wanted to do something by utilizing the policy to pursue his dream. When the government announced the introduction of MGNREGA scheme, Ankit got the idea of having plantations of Pongamia, a bio-fuel plant, through the labour force of MGNREGA and build a business model by bringing it under the bio-fuel policy. Ankit shared his journey of the establishing his venture by working with the government. He mentioned the difficulties he faced - a missing coma in a policy, the red-tapes of bureaucracy and the policy gaps like politicians and bureaucrats being unaware of policies, no revision of price of bio-fuels, inhibition of direct engagement for dealership with the railways etc.
Some useful tips from the entrepreneur:
1. Start your venture as early as possible – you will have lesser problems when you are young
2. Use your MBA knowledge to become an entrepreneur – analyse your idea for your course projects
3. Build Network Quotient – nothing helps in forming your venture better than a good network
4. Burn the Bridges – take risk and make that big leap forward and start it
As per him the following sectors in agribusiness have a lot of untapped potential:
- Social Forestry
- Integrated livelihood: Social fishery, poultry & plantation
- Identify the needs of people: Government, CSR, Community
- Community Resource Centres
- 2nd generation bio-fuels: Cellulosic ethanol and Bio-Oil
If you are thinking of starting some venture of yours in the field of agribusiness, you now have a good idea of where and how you could start.