Meet at Athens of the East - Madurai

As the sound of the temple bells resonated in the air from the midst of Madurai, the holy Meenakshi temple it woke us up from our siesta and reminded us of the eventful day ahead. Thus sipping the hot cup of filter coffee we made our way towards our first destination Sourashtra Chamber of Commerce. Madurai saw the migration of a large number of people from Gujarat particularly from Saurashtra region way back in 16th century. From that time onwards they have build a strong foothold for themselves in the business ecosystem of Madurai.  In the interactive session we learnt that the majority of them were involved in trading so we suggested to them that to further their business they should get into manufacturing of products that they trade. This suggestion seemed to get the consensus of all present. We further learnt that they are organising Sourashtra Industry and Trade Conference ( SITCON ) 2015 where they will be organising conferences and seminars and meeting with entrepreneurs, ministers etc. So we promised to give them support in this and get participation from other countries as well. On the same grounds we suggested them that they should conduct Vibrant Madurai next year and we would provide them unending support in this. Thus, the meet here was extremely fruitful and it charged us with energy to continue our journey forward

Our next stop was the meet organised by Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (MADISTA) and Nativelead Foundation which is an incubation center for budding entrepreneurs.  The main topic for discussion was International Market Access and Innovative Approaches to Make in India. The meet had an air of innovation as many an innovative ideas were discussed. We all have heard about organic vegetables, pulses but have we heard about ORGANIC EGGS!! Nativelead had successfully incubated this company by the name Happy Hens which was started by Mr Ashok Kannan, the founder & Manjunath in a one acre land at Kottampatti Village near Madurai. They have kept hens whom they feed natural feed so the eggs are of a good quality. These eggs are today sold in tier I cities and they retail at a premium price. Hearing such success stories made us inspired and gave us hope for a glistening future which our country has in the near future in the hands of such budding entrepreneurs.

The last pit stop for us was Shree Madura Gujarati Samaj. Here as the interactive session proceeded we learnt that the majority of Gujaratis staying in Madurai were involved in trading. Thus, we suggested them that they should get involved in manufacturing as well. Further as we know today the majority of ecommerce sites use the technology and software of India thus we suggested them that we should leverage this potential that India offers and most of us should take our business online.

Thus, as the evening prayers reverberated in the air, with much hopes and a dream for a better tomorrow we proceeded to Coimbatore - Manchester of South India.