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The
entrepreneur is the key to successful technology promotion.
The process of promotion begins with the seeding of the new
technology. If you seed the right entrepreneur in a new region,
others will follow suit to adopt the same technology. It is called
the ‘apple pie effect’. The leader bears the brunt of product
promotion and enjoys its monopoly for a considerable time till other
entrepreneurs emerge and take their share of the growing cake.
The
million-dollar question is ‘Who is the right entrepreneur and how
to find him?’ Decades of experience of technology promotion
agencies and more than 10 years of experience of Development
Alternatives in enterprise development leads to the following set of
essential traits of the right entrepreneur. He/She.
| a. |
Asks relevant and pertinent questions |
| b. |
Has knowledge of the market |
| c. |
Is willing to take risk |
| d. |
Is restless, always thinking of ways to maximize profits |
| e. |
Has ability to cope with competition |
There is no unique
method to find such entrepreneurs. The best way is to create
awareness and spread the message about the benefits of the
technology package. This is efficiently done through various
intermediaries like agents, consultants and technical consultancy
organisations. Since entrepreneurs are always on the lookout for new
business opportunities for growth and diversification, the message
is likely to strike a favourable chord and attract their attention.
Presented below are profiles of some entrepreneurs which corroborate
that commitment and strong will power to achieve success against all
odds is the key to technology promotion. The role of other factors
like choice of technology, type of markets, access to finance and
institution support can not be neglected but normally these factors
only complement entrepreneurial capability.
Market
Rural houses, schools, poultry farms,
animal sheds
Finance
Investment
Rs. 3,00,000
Capacity 600 tiles/day
Earnings Rs.1,44,000 p.a
Impacts
32000
sq.m. of roof
6 workers directly, 18 workers indirectly |
(A)
Mr. Vikram Rai, Bedual, District Muzzaffarpur, Bihar
Vikram
started his enterprise in 1993 with one machine making micro
concrete roofing tiles as a substitute for thatch roofs. After
a year’s hard work, MCR tiles can be seen on virtually every
other roof on Muzzaffarpur - Sitamarhi road. Starting out from
a rented place, he purchased land to set up his own unit.
Apart from expansion of his business empire, there are now
eight such enterprises operating on the same 25 km stretch
between Sitamarhi and Muzzaffarpur. |
Market
Dhabas, schools, extensions
Finance
Investment Rs.2,00,000
Capacity 200 tiles/day
1000 blocks/day
Earnings Rs.1,20,000 p.a.
Impacts
15000sq.m. of roof
3 direct jobs, 6 indirect jobs
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(B)
Suabhi Concrete Tiles, Banda, UP
Mr.
Anoop Saxena, started his MCR tile business by taking loan
under PMRY scheme in year 1996. Concentrated effort on market
development and investment in brand building has led to a
tremendous success. He has followed it up with adding new
products, concrete paving blocks, to the business portfolio.
He also supports the SDC sponsored Building Material Programme
run by DA by trying out new products, acceptability and
profitability. He aspires to become a technology promoter for
MCR technology in Eastern UP. |
Market
Car sheds, hotels and resorts
Finance
investment Rs. 2,50,000
Capacity 400 tiles/day
Earnings Rs, 1,92,000 p.a.
Impacts
30000
sq.m. of roof
4 direct jobs, 10 indirect jobs
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(C)Vishwakarma
Industries, Panchkula, Haryana
Vishal Sagar, a
commerce graduate, started MCR unit in 1996 with a small
capital. The urban market posed many challenges to the
introduction of technology in the market place, but could not
deter him. Banking on quality and services and building up on
the brand "Dura Crete", he has been able to install
more than 100 roofs at a premium price for the upper segment
of income category. He has doubled his production capacity
since then and has visibly risen up the social ladder.
Currently, he is focussing on government and institutional
markets and geographical expansion. His commitment to quality
and better services has been recognised and awarded recently
by DRDA Kapurthala on 26th Jan, 2001. |
Market
Rural
houses, industrial sheds
Financial
Investment
Rs. 2,00,000
Capacity 200 tiles/day
Earnings Rs.1,20,000 p.a
Impacts
1600
sq.m.of MCR
4 direct jobs, 8 indirect jobs
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(D)
Mr. Chennegowda, Talakad, South Karnataka
Mr.
Chennegowda, retired supervisor from Sugar Industry wanted to
be a successful business man. MCR provided him the opportunity
to fulfil his dream of ‘ serving the society’. He started
his unit in 1998 with financing support form Development
Alternatives and has installed more than 60 roofs till now in
the face of stiff competition against Mangalore tiles. Regular
participation in Fairs, local ‘Haats’ to educate the
customer paid rich dividends in the long run and his business
is poised to expand further. Currently, he employs all women
workers and wants to raise funds for housing for the EWS.
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The
author is Senior Business Development Executive
Development Alternatives
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