The fast-growing economy and huge pool of youth talent make India a thriving place for entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship development has become a key policy priority of the central and state governments and most higher education institutions have a dedicated cell for supporting entrepreneurship. The Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell) of IIT Bombay has been inspiring Entrepreneurs since 1998 and Thomson Reuters designated it as Asia’s largest student-run entrepreneurship-promoting body.

World Trade Center Mumbai organized an interactive session with the 45 member E-Cell of IIT Bombay to explore areas of cooperation to promote entrepreneurship and innovation among youth. The meeting also focused on imparting relevant skills for aspiring exporters and professionals in international trade. The session highlighted the significance of international trade and its know-how, encouraging students to use innovation to promote ‘Brand India’ in the global market.

Students were also briefed about the history of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) and WTC Mumbai and their role in promoting an integrated business ecosystem for global trade. Further, they were informed about the various verticals of WTC Mumbai and their contribution in promoting entrepreneurship and integrating MSMEs into the global value chain. The students were invited to explore WTC Mumbai's academic and research resources to further help them understand the dynamics of global trade. They were also invited to join different professional courses offered by World Trade Institute, which is the education wing of WTC Mumbai. The session featured a brief presentation by the IIT E-Cell on its various activities as well as its flagship event ‘Eureka.’ During the session, representatives from the E-Cell gave an overview of their upcoming Entrepreneurship Summit (E-Summit), which is a platform for exchange of innovative ideas and network to find potential partners, mentors, investors from industry and financial institutions.

Addressing the students, Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai stressed on the need of supporting innovation amongst the IIT graduates. “WTC Mumbai would like to be at the center of promoting new ideas of growth and entrepreneurship,” he said. Dr Kalantri added that WTC Mumbai wishes to partner with the E-cell of IIT Bombay to promote entrepreneurship and innovation. “We can jointly partner to institute an annual innovation award at the upcoming E summit in February 2024 to recognize student innovators and youth entrepreneurs who develop innovative products and technologies. Besides, we can collaborate for organizing an entrepreneurship event and help aspiring entrepreneurs to raise risk capital from potential investors,” Dr Kalantri said.

It was agreed during the meeting that World Trade Center Mumbai will be the global connectivity partner for IIT Bombay’s Entrepreneurship Summit, which will take place in Mumbai on February 3 and 4, 2024.

During the meeting, Ms. Rupa Naik, Executive Director, WTC Mumbai, invited IIT Bombay students to attend trade programs of WTC Mumbai and network with the incoming trade delegations from foreign countries. Ms. Naik also proposed to work with IIT Bombay in conducting student exchange programs with foreign universities.

Capt. Somesh Batra, Vice Chairman, WTC Mumbai proposed the vote of thanks.