Bharti Centre for Entrepreneurial Initiatives (BCEI), a joint initiative of Bharti Foundation and Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI), Ahmedabad, today said that it is inviting nominations for the Bharti Entrepreneur of the Year Award – 2008. The Award recognises the accomplishments of first generation entrepreneurs as also their devotion of purpose. It brings them before the society as role models. This annual award comprises Rs. 1 lakh, a trophy and a citation. Nominations would be received till November 28, 2008.
BCEI was set up in the year 2002 at Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad, with the objective of promoting entrepreneurship through a host of activities in education, research and training. As a part of its mandate, the Centre instituted the Bharti Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2003.
Nominations for the Award can be made by regular Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) trained first generation entrepreneurs, emerging from preferably a non-business family and possessing three successful years in business. An institution or an NGO conducting entrepreneurship development training can also nominate its trained entrepreneur(s). Nominations can be sent to Mr. S. B. Sareen, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, P.O. Bhat – 382 428, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India or mailed at sareen@ediindia.org. Forms can also be downloaded from: www.ediindia.org.
A jury consisting of eminent professionals and educationists would shortlist the eligible applicants and the shortlisted candidates would be invited at the EDI campus, Ahmedabad for personal interaction with the jury. The personal interaction would explore the vision, roadmap and strategies conceived to tackle the rough times in business as also plan future directions.
Profiles of past winners:
1. 2003: Mr. R.S. Khadwalia, Managing Director, Indo Farm Equipment Ltd., Chandigarh, started his trading business of selling tractor spare-parts with an investment of Rs. 25,000 in 1984. Today, he is a high-flying achiever in manufacturing tractors. In the year 2003, his company’s turnover crossed Rs. 100 crores.
2. 2004: Mr. NCV Rangacharya, , a trainee in the one-month EDP conducted under the aegis of IDBI, SBI and DST, is owner of Cadsys (India) Ltd., one of the leading firms in Computer Aided Design and GIS in the country.
3. 2005: Mr. Bhavin Turakhia, the proud owner of DIRECTi, started his company in 1998 with a meagre investment of Rs. 25,000/-. His company is today the pioneer in web services industry in India and is one of the largest players in this space worldwide. In the year 2005, his company had an investment close to Rs. 54 lacs.
4. 2006: Mr. Mitesh Talati set up Shree Santram Engineering Works, in 1993 after completing his training at Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, Gujarat. Today his investment has reached an enviable of Rs. 50 lakh from a mere Rs. 1.5 lakh during the initiation of his unit.
5. 2007: Mr. Ashit Doshi, Managing Director, Doshion Ltd., took the reins of almost a dead organization way back in 1993 and carved out a path for himself and his small company. Doshion Ltd., the ‘one-stop water management solution provider’, attained a turnover of Rs. 240 crore in the year 2006-07 and registered 100% growth.
6. 2007: Mr. Sardarsinh Jadeja of Geeta Machine Tools Pvt. Ltd., Jamnagar (Special prize), is a trusted name in manufacturing Machine Tools and specialized industrial machines. Mr. Jadeja started his career as an Apprentice, set up a small unit and moved on to convert it into a private limited company. Today, Mr. Jadeja is the proud owner of eight different companies, with a turnover of Rs. 20 crore.
About Bharti Foundation:
Bharti Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of Bharti Enterprises was established in 2000 with a vision “to help underprivileged children and young people of our country realize their potential”. Bharti Foundation aims to achieve its vision by focusing on the issue of education. The Satya Bharti School Program is the flagship program of Bharti Foundation and was started in 2006. The program aims to make available high quality free education to underprivileged children, out-of-school children, migrant children and especially the girl child in the deepest rural pockets of the country. Presently, Bharti Foundation is providing free education to over 18,000 children through 159 Satya Bharti Primary Schools in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Further, 50 secondary and senior secondary schools are also in the process of being set up. The Foundation has also partnered with Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi to set up the Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management, IIT Delhi, and with IIT Bombay to set up the Bharti Centre for Communication at IIT Bombay.
About Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India
Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI), an autonomous and a not-for-profit institute, set up in 1983, is sponsored by apex financial institutions – the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), IFCI Ltd., State Bank of India (SBI) and the Government of Gujarat. EDI’s pioneering activities in entrepreneurship development training have established that people from all walks of life can become business owners. Through well-conceived training interventions and capacity building activities, over last 25 years EDI has equipped thousands of people with entrepreneurial skills. To pursue its mission further EDI has helped set up twelve state-level exclusive entrepreneurship development centres and institutes.
