Surat (Gujarat) [India], March 26: Presented by Triyom Realty, powered by CRMONE and We Founder Circle, and hosted by BNI Greater Surat and Corporate Connections, the Surat Biz Fest kicked off on March 24 at Amore in India’s diamond capital of Surat and has since received a lot of attention from the Indian business community.
Day one of the biggest business festival, the Bharat Startup Summit, was a fantastic chance for all attendees to learn about and celebrate the startup ecosystem. Interacting with prominent businesspeople, investors, and unicorns was a highlight of the event.
CA Gaurav VK Singhvi, Executive Director of BNI Greater Surat, kicked off the festival by unveiling his new venture, ‘Avinya Ventures,’ which means ‘Innovation.’ With this new venture, India’s startup ecosystem will undoubtedly be bolstered.
Keynote speaker and prominent angel investor Apurva Chamaria, Head of Startups & Venture Capitalist at Google India, engaged the audience in an open discussion by saying, “We should not only aim to create an independent India but create the country’s startups in such a way that the entire world would depend on India.” Additional praise for Gujarat’s inventive spirit comes from the claim that 10% of India’s apps originate there.
Later, Nimith Agarwal moderated a panel discussion titled “Investing in Early-stage Startups: The Risks and Rewards of Backing New Age Businesses.” Panellists Kashyap Pandya (Founder, Syncoro Ventures); Pratik Bose (Managing Partner, IAN); Apurva Arora (Founder, EPIC Ventures); and Vivek Kapoor (Co-Founder, Dineout) shared their insights on the startup scene and inspired to startup founders.
On March 25 at the Platinum Hall of the Surat International Exhibition and Convention Centre (SIECC), Sarsana, the second day of the Surat Biz Fest Summit took place, and it was a huge success. Following an opening address by BNI Greater Surat Executive Director, Dr Nidhi Singhvi, and WFC Founder CA Gaurav VK Singhvi led an in-depth discussion on Surat’s potential to become India’s financial capital by 2030, as well as the part that each BNI member can play in making this vision a reality.
The masterclass was given by Sandeep Kaushik, senior director consultant from Gurgaon, on the topic of “Scale up exports,” while Murli Srinivasan, senior district director of BNI India, gave a keynote session on the subject of “BNI & Business Growth.” On the topic of “Aligning your inner GPS for Success, health, and wealth,” Dr Neelam Mohan, senior director of the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Liver Transplantation at Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon, spoke.
After the presentation, a panel discussion titled “Private Limited to Public Limited” was held. Panel Speakers included Ashiwan Desai of Aether Industries Limited (Chemicals), Ketan Zota of Zota Pharma Ltd (Chemicals), Milan Parikh of Jainam Securities Ltd (Equity investments), Abbas Hajoori of Sosyo Beverages Ltd (Food and Beverages). The session was moderated by Gaurav VK Singhvi (We Founder Circle Startup Investors).
Over 10,000 business owners, 500 business entities, (45+) speakers participated, 130 plus premium exhibitors, over 200 startup founders, and participants from approximately 40+ BNI India regions will converge on this three-day extensive Surat Biz Fest for networking.
