The Focus India 2022 team and delegation was extremely excited to finally start the seminar in India. Throughout our seminar, we visited the cities of Bangalore, Cochin, and Mumbai where we had the chance to experience the picturesque sceneries and vibrant cities, enjoy the outstanding cuisine, and encounter the overall friendliness and openness of the people in India. Moreover, we had numerous interesting corporate visits and discussions with renowned companies which were specifically selected for this year’s topic.
Bangalore
Tippu Sultan’s summer palace, Bangalore
Swiss Re, Bangalore
The Coffee Board India, Bangalore
“Namaskara” – After a long journey we had finally arrived on 8 April 2022 in Bangalore. Our seminar in India started with a delegation dinner and a presentation by Prof. Marco Casanova, who gave us important inputs and insights about intercultural behavior and communication and what typical stereotypes we could run into during our time in India.
9 – 10 April: Being keen to get to know the culture, people, and food, we started our second day by visiting the Tippu Sultan’s summer palace, where the Mysorean ruler Tippu Sultan used to live during the summer months. The Indo-Islamic architecture of the palace includes pillars, arches and balconies and was built entirely on teak. After the visit, we walked through one of the local markets in the middle of Bangalore. Spices, religious items, fruits and vegetables decorated the stalls and streets. Cricket and yoga were on our activities’ list to get to know the national sports of India better. Both being important parts of the Indian culture; cricket is the most popular sport in India and is played almost everywhere in the country. On the other hand, yoga is believed to have originated in India about 5000 years ago and is therefore known as the “land of yoga”.
11 April: The first company visit was scheduled at Swiss Re which is located in the “Silicon Valley” of Bangalore. Swiss Re’s focus on sustainability starts with several activities in-house, such as cultivating their garden areas and supplying their buildings with solar energy from their installed solar roof panels. Matching the Focus India theme of “trust, technology and sustainability”, Swiss Re presented us their contributions to this year’s topic through multiple presentations. On the topic of “trust”, we had the opportunity to talk to the top managers of Swiss Re India about their experiences in their daily work. In the area of “sustainability”, we received inputs on the path to “Net Zero Waste” and the Swiss Re Foundation. “We want to build resilient societies” is the aim of the Swiss Re Foundation, which enables societal resilience through social entrepreneurship and community management.
12 April: On Tuesday we had the opportunity to visit Swissnex India and learned more about their innovative activities by connecting the dots between Switzerland and India. We also got enriching insights about emerging topics in the fields of research and innovation. The Focus India PR team took also the chance to interview the CEO of Swissnex India, Jonas Brunschwig, and learned what makes Swissnex unique. In the afternoon, we had a smooth transit to the Coffee Board which is located in the heart of the city. Did you know that India is the 7th biggest producer of coffee in the world? Coffee in India is grown under a canopy of thick natural shade in ecologically sensitive regions of the Western and Eastern Ghats. This is one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots of the world. Coffee contributes significantly to sustain the unique biodiversity of the region and is also responsible for the socio-economic development in the hilly areas. Professor Marco Casanova complemented the visit by means of Swiss companies with a strong brand identification where for instance, the watch industry but also the tourism sector was mentioned.
13 April: Accenture our multi-year platinum partner spent a full day with us. They introduced us to their recruitment process and diversity management at Accenture in India, which represents one of the largest talent hubs amongst all establishments. Not only did we explore the career paths of the company, but also attended their presentations about the usage of artificial intelligence, Advanced Technology Centers in India (ATCI), robots and innovation.
14 April: Saahas is a Non-Profit Organization that focuses on waste management. Their mission includes helping to build communities across rural and urban India that manage their waste at source by reducing, reusing and recycling their waste and achieving 90% resource recovery. Therefore, we had the chance to go on-site to see their facilities and visited the garden areas and one of their collecting/recycling centers. They provide end-to-end waste management services based on the principles of circular economy. Also, they handle waste sustainably and responsibly for all kind of institutions.
Local market, Bangalore
Saahas collecting and recycling center, Bangalore
Accenture, Bangalore
«Build your business around the customer’s needs and not around your products/services. It is not so important what you sell; it is far more important what your customers buys”
Cochin
15 –17 April: Over the Easter weekend we had the privilege to visit Cochin, which is located on the southwest coast of India. The region, also called «the Switzerland of India» is part of the state of Kerala and is known for its backwater ecosystem and colorful scenery. But more important is the innovation spirit of Cochin. The International Airport of Cochin became the world’s first solar powered airport in 2015. For this entrepreneurial vision, the airport was rewarded in 2018 with the Champion of the Earth award, the highest environmental honor instituted by the United Nations. Moreover, the airport owns the title for “best airport in Asia-Pacific» in 2020 by Airports Council International.
The highlight of the stay was the backwater tour on Saturday where we hopped on a big boat for a day and witnessed the backwaters on the rivers of Kerala. There we had the opportunity to have a look at the unique ecosystem and natural beauty of the inland waterways. The whole delegation used the time during the backwater tour to reflect and speak about their learnings during the time in Bangalore and enjoyed the rest of the day on the boat.
Backwater tour, Cochin
Beach at Xandari Pearl Resort, Cochin
«Healthcare is one of those verticals where India and Switzerland have a lot of potential to collaborate and bridge the gaps to create impact. Swiss researchers on their entrepreneurial journey like Sleepiz and SurgeonsLab are among the innovators making their impact in India with us»
Athena School of Management, Mumbai
Gems & Jewellery, Mumbai
Mumbai
The seminar abroad comes to an end in the vibrant city of Mumbai. It is one of the biggest cities in India and known as the financial and business capital of the country. In the coming years the city will be transformed completely thanks to the several projects for coastal roads, metros, industrial corridors, and new train connections between north and south.
18 April: On Monday we travelled from Cochin to Mumbai. To start off the stay in this huge city, a dancing lesson had been organized where we had the pleasure to learn some Bollywood steps to the matching music.
19 April: The team visited the Athena School of Management where we connected with our fellow students, whom we have met virtually during the seminar in Switzerland. In the morning we discussed the topics such as NGOs, Indian coffee, green tourism as well as gems and jewellery.
20 April: The Swiss Business Hub was also part of the seminar where we broadened our horizons about the representation of international trade and promotion as well as tourism between Switzerland and India. The hub is the key contact point for Swiss and Liechtenstein small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking for export opportunities in the Indian market. On the other hand, the Swiss Business Hub informs Indian companies about the key advantages of Switzerland as a business and investment location. During our visit, we learned that India gained independence in 1947 and the first privileged partnership was created in 1948. Also, the market for Indian goods in Switzerland is more open than for Swiss goods in India and the most traded good is gold, which can also be attributed to the importance of gold in Indian weddings.
Further, the Gems & Jewellery Promotion Council welcomed us in their headquarters to understand the importance of the jewellery sector in India. The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council is the body driving India’s export-led growth in the gem and jewellery sector, since 1966. Inviting countries to explore areas of co-operation in supply of rough diamonds, coloured gemstones and sourcing of finished jewellery or facilitating better interaction on trade-related issues between the industry and the Government of India are part of their mission at GJEPC. Of course, a tour into the manufacturing site could not be missed to see the diamonds and understand how the national and international logistics “behind the scenes” works.
21 April: The Dharavi tour in the heart of Mumbai closed our seminar in India. Dharavi, located in one of Mumbai’s prime locations, is one of the biggest slums in Asia where roughly one million people are living. It is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, where a highly diverse settlement in terms of religions and ethnicity can be found. It was impressive to see the thriving business ecosystems within this «city in the city». Major economic sectors in Dharavi include waste recycling, traditional pottery and a textile industry, out of which goods such as leather products, jewellery, or textiles are being exported around the world.
The seminar in India was a great success where all members of this year’s edition were able to expand their knowledge and gain a better understanding of the topics and experience the country in all its glory.
Thank you to the project team, staff, PR team, and of course the delegation that has participated in the Focus India 2022 edition! Also, a special thank you to the tour guides in all locations which were part of the India Someday agency and provided us with the comfortable transportation!
– Written by Stella Bongiovanni and Eliana Felice
Swiss Business Hub, Mumbai
Dharavi tour, Mumbai