Entrepreneurs should reach for the stars, says KV Kamath

India is still a land of opportunity and every business has growth potential, particularly the services sector which has most opportunities, said non-executive chairman of ICICI Bank, KV Kamath. Addressing the youth in an interactive session, ‘The Era of Business Leadership’ organised by Divya Bhaskar on Friday, Kamath said that entrepreneurs will have to aim high. He also suggested that India’s economy has bottomed out and that it will grow at the rate of 5.5% or more, this year. While, the growth level of 8% is a fair distance away, yet.

“It is necessary for entrepreneurs to know the strengths and weakness of any business. Understand the strengths and cover the weaknesses. The only other thing you need is hard work,” he said.

The session, part of the tenth anniversary celebrations of Divya Bhaskar in Gujarat, registered full presence in the conference hall at Gujarat University Convention Centre. The session started with a presentation by Kamath, wherein he spoke at length about the bank and how the banking industry has evolved in the past few decades.

“Before technology was introduced in banking, the biggest question was whether people will ever use debit cards or ATMs. Everyone thought anything that was high on technology would be rejected. Nobody asks that question today,” he said.

Kamath further said that the lifecycle of a product has reduced from the earlier 10 years to as little as three years today. “Organisations constantly need to innovate. Smart organisations do not adapt change, they herald it. Their culture has to be collaborative and entrepreneurial. We have to be agile and respond to situations,” he said.

Kamath believes that ambitions should be higher than capabilities. “One cannot wait for the perfect opportunity; grab half an opportunity and make the most of it. Vision is needed to identify opportunity,” he added, during his address.

Later, in the question-answer session, chairman of Dainik Bhaskar Group, Ramesh Chandra Agarwal raised a query as to how the banks will help the poor people of India to avail government benefits through the Aadhar card.

To this, Kamath replied, “Aadhar is a game-changer, but it will take some time to reach every citizen of the country. Now, with the advent of latest technology, it is not necessary to open a branch in small villages. We can have a business correspondent who can provide banking service to all the people of a village. In the near future, Aadhar will be linked to banking services as well, through which benefits will reach to all sections.”

In another query, Kamath was asked by an audience member about currency depreciation, correction in the stock market and the decade’s slowest growth. He then indicated that the country’s economy has bottomed out.

“This year, we will grow between 5% and 6%. I am expecting growth of about 5.5%, particularly because the services sector is growing at a pace of 8%. 60% of the economy, which is rural, is also doing well,” he replied.

However, the country now has some challenges before it. “At present, infrastructure investment is nil. We need to get that to work. First, we have to ready the funding plan and execute it. If that is done now, we can expect 8-9% growth within three years,” he said.

Kamath also stated that a child should not listen to parents. “Parents, do not misunderstand me, don’t end up choking your child’s imagination. Children now have several options beyond the professions of doctor, engineer or MBA. The new generation is changing fast. Let them opt for different fields,” he explained.

Noting that most queries were related to tax problems, during the session, he said, “Any tax is inflationary, but the government needs to generate revenue for economic growth”.

Kamath Speak
Ambitions should be higher than capabilities.

When technology was introduced in banking, the biggest question was whether people would ever use debit cards, ATMs, owing to high usage of technology. Nobody asks that question today.

The lifecycle of a product has reduced from 10 years to as little as three, today. Organisations constantly need to innovate. Smart organisations do not adapt change, they herald it.

Culture of organisation has to be collaborative and entrepreneurial. We have to be agile and respond to situations.

One cannot wait for the perfect opportunity; grab half an opportunity and make the most of it. Vision is needed to identify opportunity.