Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata, in association with the National Entrepreneurship Network, organized the E-Summit- an annual event for aspiring entrepreneurs. The event was organized by Spirit, the entrepreneurship cell of IIFT. The theme of the event was ‘Entrepreneurship in today’s world’.



The event witnessed several corporate leaders and entrepreneurs from different fields of work share their experiences and provide insight into the world of entrepreneurship.

The event kick-started with an opening speech by Mr. Bharat Baid, a chartered accountant by profession and a financial consultant. He threw light upon the various facets of entrepreneurship, in particular the legal aspects to it and highlighted upon the need for entrepreneurship in today’s world. He also spoke about Institutional Entrepreneurship where a basic infrastructure is provided which acts as the stepping stone for future success. He asked the students to “unbrand themselves” as MBAs and do some value creation for the society.

The second speaker for the evening was Mr. Hari Balasubramanian, chairman of Ontrack Systems Ltd. and an entrepreneur since the past 25 years. He spoke about how he expected the socio-economic environment to be few years from now. He also shared his views about some of the hot trending career paths for the next decade. His in depth knowledge combined with his amicable nature kept the audience enthralled for 45 minutes. In his own words, “don’t look for money, look for satisfaction”.

The event also had Mr. Abhishek Rungta, an alumnus of the University of Bath UK, who has been practicing entrepreneurship in more than one field of work. From setting up of an internet consulting firm (Indus Net Technologies) to providing new age education through the Indus Net Academy to co-founding a venture capitalist firm called Seeders Venture Capital Pvt Ltd, Mr. Rungta had accomplished a lot at a very early stage of his life. The core aspects of his speech were pertaining to the financial issues that a start-up firm faces and what is it that a venture capitalist looks for before funding a start-up business.

The final speaker of the evening was Prof Arup Choudhuri, founder president of Acasia Consulting. He primarily shared his personal experiences in the field of entrepreneurship. Prof Arup, very evidently a man of wit, humored his speech with some several funny incidents of his life pertaining to entrepreneurship and thus kept the audience’s attention till the very end.

All in all, the students found the event to be very enriching. The event was not only stimulating but also provided the students with invaluable insights into a myriad of aspects associated with entrepreneurship.

By: Sruti Chatterjee

Today’s children will be the one who will be shaping the bright future of our country. Keeping this theme in mind , ‘Koshish’ – social responsibility club of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata along with college’s student body IMF ,has recently organized ‘Samanvaya’ marking the 6^th Foundation Day of IIFT ,Kolkata which falls on 16th July. Underprivileged children of all age groups associated with Calcutta Samaritans adorned ‘Samanvaya’ with their cheerful presence.

Calcutta Samaritans is one of the prominent NGOs based in Kolkata and has been working for the upliftment of street children since 1971.It addresses various issues ranging from de-addiction to AIDS and is active in the rehabilitation of such children for their better future. The event was attended by Mr. Timothy Barito, director of pavement club along with other teachers, who have been working self lessly for enriching the life of these children.

Mr.Timothy addressed the students to sensitize them to the needs and problems of society. His words encouraged them to take up the opportunities to give it back to the society as IIFT mandates two week internship in an NGO as part of its curriculum. The special attraction of the event was the joyful dance performance by the colorfully dressed enthusiastic little children. Talent has no boundaries and this was evident in the Bengali play based on Rabindranath Tagore which was also performed. Eminence talent with such simplicity touched everyone’s heart.

A small painting competition-‘Taare Zameen Par’ was also organized which saw active participation from all children and best paintings out of all were awarded .The event ended amid chuckles and memories captured to be relived later.

‘Samanvaya’ – true to its name has led to the interaction of students of IIFT with the children sensitizing them to the various issues of society. A few smiles shared will have a positive impact on both sides of the society.

By: Akanksha Garg