Wharton School’s Economic Forum to be held in India for the first time

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania will organize its global India-focused conference for the first time both in India as well as at its Philadelphia based campus in 2016, reported the Economic Times.

The event - the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) - will be conducted to mark the 20th anniversary of the conference. The Wharton India Startup Competition, which provides startups a platform to showcase their ideas, is a major part of the event.

"Over the years, we have realised that we are uniquely positioned to support India and Indian businesses by conducting WIEF in both India and in the US," Aditya Nair, an MBA from the class of 2016 and one of the organisers of the competition, told ET.

The event will be unique as it brings together industry leaders, investors, government leaders and Wharton professors on a single platform to discuss challenges facing the Indian economy and small businesses.

Wharton was in the eye of a storm in 2013, when it cancelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's keynote address at the India Economic forum.

The startup competition will be held in Mumbai on January 5, 2016. It will give out prizes in various categories for the best emerging startup, best established startup and best social impact startup in India. Selected winners will be later taken to Philadelphia to present their startup at Wharton in February.

Anybody can participate in the competition with a business idea or model incorporating products or services targeting the Indian market and products or services targeting the US market.

"The competition has grown to become a seminal event for startups aspiring to gain exposure to and funding in both India and in the US. Many startups have received funding offers at the competition itself," said Nair.

Presha Paragash, a Wharton MBA and co-founder of an early stage investment firm focusing on Indian startups, Sol Primero, launched the competition in 2014 to raise awareness about the startup ecosystem in India.

"There were good startups emerging out of India, but people were not too familiar with how exciting India was in the space," he said. This year, the competition has received 250 applications, and Paragash expects the number to go up to 600-800 next year.

With the boom in eCommerce and startups and rising investor interest, global business school alumni are focusing on the space. Stanford alumni have launched a Stanford Angels and Entrepreneur chapter in India, and Harvard Business School alumni run HBS Alumni Angels India to bring together alumni as well as other investors to invest in early stage businesses.

"It is a fantastic platform to bring alumni together to generate high quality deal flow for investors," said Stanford alumnus and founder of EduKart Ishan Gupta, who has joined the Stanford group as an investor.

(Image: Indiatimes)