IMD recently hosted the Indo-Swiss Investment and Innovation Forum which brought together over 130 business leaders, government officials, entrepreneurs, and investors from Switzerland, Europe, and India.
Charles Dhanaraj, an IMD Professor who moderated the event, stated: “This forum brings together multiple stakeholders who have common interests related to Switzerland and India together to explore new opportunities. It triggers a new aggressive journey to explore the full potential of this unique partnership.”
“India is set to be larger than the American economy by 2050. At IMD, we know leaders matter. How the economy grows and how the benefits are shared to uplift the society at large is a function of the strength of leaders in business and society. In shaping the future of Indian leaders, IMD will shape the future of India,” he added.
Some questions the event was looking to answer were:
What opportunities are there for Swiss investors in India and what are Swiss business leaders’ perception of doing business in India?
What opportunities are there for the technology industry and how could it speed up India’s transformation?
What will the dawn of industry 4.0 hold for India?
Smita Purushottam, Indian Ambassador to Switzerland, Liechtenstein & the Holy See, gave opening remarks and chaired the panel on technology, investment scenarios and perspectives from both Indian government and Swiss investors.
In her opening address, she said: “This gathering is a great opportunity to discuss the intersection of business, innovation and leadership at one of the most prestigious business schools in the world.” Ambassador Purushottom also mentioned how highly she regarded in particular IMD’s EMBA program.
She said that since Switzerland and India have made recent agreements on banking and data exchange, the two countries are experiencing a boom in relations. She praised Switzerland’s role as a leading country in vocational education and cited it as a model for India.
The morning of the event consisted of several high-level panels and the afternoon saw the participants breaking off into groups by sector, such as green tech, vocational education, med tech, bio tech and the internet of things, to figure out what initiatives could be launched in the near future.
The day-long event included a lunch of Indian cuisine and a cultural event in the eventing featuring a Kathak dance, one of the ten major forms of Indian classical dance.
The event is a follow up to a string of IMD’s activities in India, including a recent EMBA Discovery Trip, and the visit to India by over 12 faculty and senior staff including IMD’s President, Jean-Francois Manzoni, meeting Indian CEOs and exploring new avenues of collaboration.
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