Overseas B-school students would rather be entrepreneurs

Though most of the B-school students in India prefer high-profile corporate jobs, their overseas counterparts think that setting up a business is more fun than working for others.

Take the case of the two management students from ESADE Business School, Spain, who are here to attend the Confluence 2004. Both of them believe that once their courses are completed, they would set up their own businesses. Same is the case with the four out of the six students from the Lahore University of Management Studies (LUMS), Pakistan.

The two students from the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) want to set up businesses once they manage to get finance. Now take the case of the students from all the six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) or even another premier B-School such as the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad ""they all want to take a corporate job and work for entities which are run by others.

"Yes, there is still a stigma among management graduates from Indian B-schools about starting up their own business as they try to avoid taking risk, mainly financial. Also as it is difficult to arrange finance for setting up business here as banks and financial institutions in India still have apprehensions over such ventures," said an IIMA faculty.

"IIMA, along with various organisations, have been working to encourage more and more students to become entrepreneurs but other B-Schools in the country also need to come forward. The government also requires to make finance easy for these students to become entrepreneurs," the faculty said.

Ana Claudia Longolia, a second-year Mexican management student with the ESADE Business School at Barcelona, said, "Before joining ESADE, I was working in the tourism industry and learnt the basic business tricks there. Once I pass out from this 18-month course, I will definitely set up my own business in the tourism sector which will not only help me remain independent but also fetch money in the long run. Such a venture will also provide opportunities to travel across-the-world, thus getting exposure to various kinds of people, and culture."

Longolia's batchmate, Mats Rosenberg, who is from Sweden and also in the MBA Class of 2005, believes that after graduation, he will first work for a few years in the corporate sector.

"Then I will start my own business in the manufacturing sector as I am not much interested in the services sector. The manufacturing sector has been witnessing a steady rise across-the-world, specially in Europe. So I want to start my own business while I already have experience in the sales field," Mats said.

Stefan Baumann, a German student from CEIBS in China, wants to set up his own business in China.