Clarence Pareira, a member of the Kanara Entrepreneurs Limited (KE) since its inception, says he has benefited greatly from his association with KE. Exposure to the many domain experts and specialists who are members of the group has helped Pareira introduce the best practices and learn how to run his business more efficiently.
KE is a global, non-profit, mutual benefit corporation founded by successful entrepreneurs and business executives from the Kanara region (the southern coast of Karnataka). The organisation supports and nurtures the growth of entrepreneurship through affiliations to cover all key locations with individuals having similar objectives.
Its chief aim is to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit that was once endemic to the region, and which saw financial institutions such as Canara Bank, Corporation Bank and Syndicate Bank take birth.
“The talk by a chartered accountant regarding analysis of balance sheets by CEOs has made a big impact on our business. He made a very pertinent point about stock lying unused for more than six months. On checking with our own companies we realised we had stocks carried over the years on the assumption that one day we would use them,” said Pareira, director and owner of the Bangalore-based Deccan Group.
He ultimately made a conscious effort to bring in the best practices on the basis of what he learnt through the talk, which resulted in a saving of over Rs 50 lakh.
Quite a few new businesses have been started through networking efforts of KE. Two of the major projects include Mangalore Internet City, an integrated township and information technology park costing Rs 1,000 crore; and Maclanro Consulting, a consulting firm for business succession, finance, legal and information technology.
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Naveen Prakash Rodrigues, Operations Specialist — ODG Centre, Bangalore at ABB India, has been a member of KE since its launch in Bangalore. He said many of the members are in coveted positions in corporate India, and “I have an opportunity to learn from others on how to run a successful business. The talks and panel discussions organised by KE are contemporary and very useful.”
It has helped companies in the export area through networking. “KE helped us in getting contact information on export service agreements. Due to this I could increase my revenue by 30 per cent,” said Naveen R D’Souza, CEO of Bangalore-based Souza Technologies.
KE has brought together over 100 entrepreneurs and corporate executives to share their experiences and mentor fellow entrepreneurs. The group aims to increase awareness of the need for professional management, tax compliance and better financial management.
Its only downside is its narrow community and geographic focus, but Claudius Pereira, director -mentoring, KE, explains, “It is the limited bandwidth of the group which forced us into a narrow focus.”