Mangaluru Entrepreneur's Day - IGNITE 2023

In a new initiative to give impetus to entrepreneurship in Mangaluru, the city based Manel Srinivas Nayak Institute of Management (MSNIM) along with the Atal Incubation Centre, Nitte launched its first edition of Mangaluru Entrepreneurs’ Day on Saturday, March 4, at Hotel Ocean Pearl.

Sarvotham Pejavar, founder & CEO of Zecomy, Bengaluru and Vittaldas Leeladhar, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, were the chief guests for the inaugural ceremony, which took place at 9.30 am. Manel Annappa Nayak, president of the Women's National Education Society (WNES), presided. The event commemorates the 110th birth anniversary of Manel Srinivas Nayak, a pioneer educationist and former-MLA, after whom the MSNIM is named.

In his address, Sarvotham Pejavar observed that having an entrepreneurial mindset is the most important requirement for venturing into business. “Entrepreneurial mindset is about leading change, creating value and taking calculated risks. Self belief is important for this journey. India’s domestic market is huge and India is the final destination for all the countries of the world. In the next 25 years, India will beat every other country and become No.1. There are opportunities emerging in every sector. Everything is available. You only need to unlock yourself,” he said.

Vittaldas Leeladhar paid rich tributes to the institution’s founder, Manel Srinivas Nayak. Dr GV Shenoy, the first director of the institute traced the institution’s journey from its inception. Dr A P Achar, CEO of Nitte AIC introduced the event and promised to start an incubation Centre at MSNIM soon.

Mangaluru Entrepreneurs’ Day aims to inspire budding entrepreneurs, provide networking opportunities and bring together business owners, investors and other stakeholders to exchange ideas and build partnerships. The ultimate goal is to promote entrepreneurship and encourage people to start and grow their businesses in Mangaluru, which will result in job creation and the economic growth of the region.

The programme comprised four sessions. The first session, ‘Road Map for Development of Entrepreneurship in Mangaluru,' was moderated by Dr AP Achar, CEO of AIC Nitte Incubation Centre.

Ratheesh R GM, Union Bank of India, prof A M Khan, professor and chairman of department of electronics, Mangalore University and M Ganesh Kamath, president, KCCI, were the speakers.

Following the inaugural, the panel discussions were with the leading entrepreneurs as speakers.

For the first panel, the speakers were Mr. Ratheesh R GM Union Bank of India, Dr. AM Khan Mangalore University, and Mr. Ganesh Kamath President KCCI while Dr. AP Achar moderated the discussion. They discussed the topic ‘Road Map of Entrepreneurship in Mangaluru’, as each of them shred their experiences, thoughts and advice on how an entrepreneurial journey can begin in Mangaluru. They discussed the basics of entrepreneurship and how an entrepreneur should be in times of hardship.

The speakers for the second panel were Mr. Sarvotham Pejavar, Mr. Ajith Kamath and Mrs. Preethi Nayak. Mrs. Nanditha Sunil moderated the discussion. The topic of discussion was ‘Best Practices in Entrepreneurship-Experience Sharing’. The speakers all shared their routines and the habits they’ve inculcated in themselves to manage their entreprises, and remain a leading entrepreneur. They spoke about the research that was done before starting their businesses, the routine checks they do to make sure everything is working, the importance of innovation and consistency.

The topic of discussion for the third panel was ‘Evolving Eco Systems for Start-ups in Mangaluru’. The speakers were Ms. Shylaja Rao, Mr. Mohammed Hanif and Ms. Athmika Amin. The moderator was Mrs. Vathika Pai. This discussion mainly focused on the support the students can get from the current scenario to become entrepreneurs. The speakers spoke about the various hurdles faced by the young entrepreneurs and the fears that stop many from becoming one. The speakers spoke about various associations that they represented and the funding schemes and programs they have for entrepreneurs.

The fourth panel was on the topic, ‘Opportunities and Support for Start-ups in Mangaluru’. The speakers were Mr. Manesh Thomas, Dr. AP Achar, and Mr. Johnson Tellis. The Moderator was Dr. Molly S Chaudhuri. The speakers spoke about incubation centers in Mangaluru, talking about their experiences as a part of such incubation centers and about the support they can give to any budding start-up. They spoke of how simply having an idea and visiting the incubation center can lead to the actual building of a start-up with support from the incubation centre. They concluded by saying how educational institutions can join hands and share the incubation centers around so that each and every budding entrepreneur can get the support he deserves.

After the fourth panel, the event ended with lunch.