Right time to be an entrepreneur in India

At TiE-ISB Connect 2006 in Hyderabad, Srini Raju, chairman of iLabs Capital and a venture capitalist, said that his passion is to help create the next generation of global companies from India and help transform first generation professionals into entrepreneurs.

Raju is the former chief operating officer, Satyam Computer Services and also the founding chief executive officer, Cognizant Technology Solutions.

Raju's iLabs Fund 1 (proprietary) came into existence in 2000, and the new iLabs Fund 2 (institutional) was set up this year. According to him, iLabs Fund is driven by people with experience in building global companies. The fund has a significant capital contribution from the principals and has a size of over $350 million.

He said that he has one of the few independent teams at iLabs. Some of the professionals who have turned entrepreneurs with help from iLabs are G V Kumar of Xius; Ravi Reddy of Megasoft; Ravi Prakash of TV9; Tapaas Chakravorthy of DQ; and Suresh Ramani of eSolutions.

Srini Raju emphasised that the focus of iLabs is on Indian companies and India-leveraged opportunities. "We will act as guide, mentor and trusted advisor to all the entrepreneurs. When situations warrant, we do not hesitate to lend an operational hand. We believe in creating synergies by leveraging our network of customers and strategic partners."

He told the audience that India and China would be the Asian drivers of growth, especially India with its huge population slowly enjoying the fruits of the resurgent economy.

The nation is also moving from savings-led growth to consumption-led growth, he said. With economy growing at around 8 per cent over the last three years -- with the services sector continuing its double digit growth and manufacturing posting near double digit growth -- India is on the top of many minds, he added.

Raju listed some more positive aspects about the Indian economy:

• In the last 24 months, the capital market is up by almost a 100 per cent with a value of over $700 billion.
• There is also a sustained flow of IPOs -- $7 billion of capital being raised through IPOs in FY 05-06.
• FDI inflow also is up by 40 per cent to $7.5 billion in FY05-06.
• Global M&A of Indian corporates are also on the rise and there is a conducive regulatory environment.
• Working population is on the rise with age demographics dominated people under the age of 35.
• The urbanisation trend is favourable which is estimated to rise to 35 per cent of total population by 2020.
• India is one of the largest markets for automobiles, mobile telephony, consumer goods and insurance.
• The consumer market is booming with a household base of 150 million-plus middle class.

"So, it's the right time for the entrepreneurs to be in India," said Raju.

With lots of venture capitalists looking to fund businesses and ideas, time was never so rosy for entrepreneurs in India, Raju said. The sectors that are already declared as winners are IT services, telecom, banking, insurance, construction, infrastructure and media. But he sees healthcare and life sciences, niche markets in IT and services, retail, logistics and distribution, entertainment and defence as the hot sectors of future.

• TiE-ISB Connect 2006: Complete Coverage