TiE to work with ICICI Bank to help its 35,000 SME turn entrepreneur

Mumbai, Nov 8 (UNI) The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), which is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to fostering entrepreneurs, will work with ICICI Bank's SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) segment numbering 35,000 with a view to tell them how to become entrepreneurs.

Talking to UNI on the sidelines of a press meet for the announcement of TiE Entrepreneurial summit here today, Mumbai Chapter of the Organisation president Pravin Gandhi said, ''The ICICI Bank has asked us to work with their SME segment to tell them how to become an entrepreneur and we are busy chalking out our plan in this context along with Infosys.'' Earlier, ICICI Bank managing director and CEO K V Kamath said, ''In our SME segment, nearly 35,000 enterprises want to become entrepreneur and hence we have invited TiE for the project''.

Lauding the TiE, he said the way India is growing, there was an urgent need for organisations like TiE to promote entrepreuners.

Founded in the Silicon Valley area of California in the USA in 1992, TiE today boasts of having its presence in 10 countries with 45 chapters. Its India operations which began in 2000, has got 13 chapters so far.

Hence, apart from other entrepreneurs, SMEs have been invited to attend the three-day TiE summit, which begins in Mumbai on December 17. Among the other invitiees included students of various educational institutions, both large and small entrepreneurs, the bankers that finance them and the legal professionals that give legal consultations to them, said Sridhar Iyengar, the President, Global Board of Trustee of TiE.

''Degreewise there lies no difference between Mumbai's dabbawalahs, who provide meals to the working professionals, and big bankers. Hence we are holding the summit to bring all categories of entrepreneurs on a single platform,'' he said.

The organising theme of TiE's forthcoming summit, which will be inaugurated by the Union Finance Minister, P Chidambaram is 'Democratising Entrepreneurship'.

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