Date:01/02/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/02/01/stories/2005020100551900.htm

Back `Foreign varsities studying Indian entrepreneurs' success stories'

Our Bureau

Bangalore , Jan. 31

INDIAN entrepreneurship accounts are becoming popular case studies for management students in foreign universities. Ten MBA students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business who were on a study of entrepreneurship in the country recently, visited Enercon Systems, a Bangalore-based SME.

Enercon Systems is involved in the design, development and manufacture of digital meters and energy management systems for industrial applications.

Ms Hema Hattangadi, Managing Director, Enercon Systems, says, "That's because in India 18 out of 100 people turn entrepreneurs while in Japan, it's only one out of every 100. Also, they find it interesting because here entrepreneurship is more need-based than an opportunity for growth as the case is in the US and other Western countries."

On being asked why they chose Enercon, Prof Larry Cox, Director, Weiniert Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Wisconsin, said, "Enercon is a relatively small company but growing very rapidly. What impressed us was the quality control and manufacturing systems that are in place."

In fact, one of the students who was working for a leading US-based computer manufacturer noted that the Bangalore-based SME's systems were more stringent than any other large companies he had seen. Enercon was also chosen as a case study for having overcome all the hurdles of a growing from a family-run business to a global MNC distributing products and services to over 15 countries.

The team also visited several other companies in India including Opto Circuits [India] Ltd, Symphony Services, Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Ltd and the Murugappa group.