Nasscom to create growth opportunities for local IT entrepreneurs in West Bengal

NEW DELHI: The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has organized the East edition of the NASSCOM Product Conclave (NPC) in Kolkata at Hyatt Regency.

An annual gathering of product and associated services entrepreneurs, VCs, academicians, angel investors, CIOs and analysts, the conclave aimed at evangelizing the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, providing a platform to showcase products and share their ideas with participating delegates.

The event was organized with support from Department of IT and Electronics, Government of West Bengal and its nodal agency WEBEL ( West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Limited ), the sessions at the event were designed to formulate measures for the growth of the IT Industry in the region in conjunction with all stakeholders in the domain.

To capture the essence of entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of West Bengal, the conclave provided early stage technology start-ups, product companies with a highly evolved environment to take their ideas to a larger audience. The full-day conclave focused on how technology can be leveraged to drive business growth and build an ecosystem of sustainable growth for start-ups. Further, there was also participation from CIOs of various industry sectors like Manufacturing, Retail, Healthcare, Financial Services and Real Estate, who discussed their needs in IT deployment and interacted with companies to understand their offerings.

Speaking on the occasion, CP Gurnani , Chairman, Nasscom , said “ The product landscape in India has evolved radically and has become a hot-bed of innovation which is creating global solutions. Kolkata has been the birthplace for some of India’s largest business houses, and is fast becoming a melting pot for new businesses with its friendly policy structures. We were pleased with the support we have received from the government and the enthusiastic participation of entrepreneurs at the conclave.”

Kamal Agarwala, Chairman, Eastern Region Council, said, “ NPC plays a very significant role in the journey of the Product Development ecosystem in the Eastern Region. This is one initiative undertaken by NASSCOM which is a focused event on software products. We want to encourage people to go back to their office next day and apply the learnings from the conclave. This year there is a special focus on emerging high-end technologies and solutions”.

NASSCOM has been constantly working towards building a strong business ecosystem in the state of West Bengal and supporting IT companies from the region. In line with the same, NASSCOM had also partnered with the Government of West Bengal and the Information Technology and Electronics Department of the Government of West Bengal to open its start-up warehouse in Kolkata. The facility will provide affordable co-working space conveniently located in the centre of the city, thereby establishing Kolkata as an emerging destination of global businesses and start-ups.

Keeping the dynamics of the Product ecosystem in mind, Nasscom organized workshops, panels, keynotes, pitches, investor meets and product exhibition at the gathering. Key topics of discussion included disruptive technologies like SMAC opportunities, IoT trends, SaaS models and leadership strategies.

The conference witnessed 400+ attendees and focused workshops on emerging technologies like Machine Learning & Analytics by Aarti Kapur , Principal Consultant, Fractal Analytics; Usage of Robotics by Prof. Kavi Arya , IIT Bombay; Virtual and Augmented Reality by Harsha Padmanabha ; Learning Growth Techniques from Alok Kejriwal , Co-Founder & CEO, Games2win; Digital Marketing Techniques by Dr. Som Singh , Founder & Chief Marketing, UCG Unspun Consulting Group. Amit Jain , President, Uber India also participated in a chat session with the delegates.