The The 10 Path Breaking South Asian Companies to Watch in 2019

www.insightssuccess.in

VOL 3 March-2019

THE

ISSUE 2

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Path Breaking

SOUTH ASIAN COMPANIES TO WATCH IN

2019

Sanith de S.Wijeyeratne Director / CEO

THE

CARBON CONSULTING

COMPANY The Social Enterprise Dedicated to Spread Corporate Sustainability

Editor

From the

“Inclusive growth and ensuring a future with quality jobs are the concerns of governments everywhere. Travel & Tourism, which already supports one in every ten jobs on the planet, is a dynamic engine of employment opportunity.�- Gloria Guevara Manzo, President & CEO World Travel & Tourism Council.

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South Asian Tourism: Fuelling the Economic Growth of the Region

ourism is among the most important economic and social phenomena in the contemporary world. Its role is crucial in generating sources of revenue and employment in the nations. Tourism is considered as one of the fastest growing industries in the world. In many countries, tourism remains a vital source of earnings, employment, foreign exchange making it important source of economic growth and development.

There are eight countries in South Asia, namely: India, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan. From swamplands to deserts, grasslands to forests, coastal areas to mountains, South Asia is enriched with some of the beautiful and exotic destinations. A variety of natural resources, scenic beauty and rivers, and diverse climatic conditions are making South Asia even more attractive.On account of geography and culture diversity, South Asian countries are in a position to generate productive employment opportunities, thus addressing economic problems through tourism.

Promotion of social and cultural exchange of different countries has always been an important agenda of the SAARC to accomplish economic interdependence for the integrated development of the region. Economic well-being among South Asian countries can be increased through stronger partnerships between countries. Healthy relationships between these nations can bring stability and peace and continue to effect positively on the economy.

Abhijeet kakde Abhijeet kakade

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Managing Editor Rahul Neeraj Executive Editor Abhijeet Kakade Art & Design Head Amol Kamble Associate Designer Poonam, Shweta Art & Picture Editor Rahul Kavnekar Co-designer Savita Pandav Business Development Manager Akansha Garewal Sales Executives Shikha , Krutika Technical Head Swapnil Patil Technical Specialist Amar, Pratiksha Digital Marketing Manager Prashant SME-SMO Executives Swati, Manoj Circulation Manager Tanaji sales@insightssuccess.com

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COVER STORY

C o n t e n t s THE CARBON CONSULTING COMPANY THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE DEDICATED TO SPREAD CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY

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CXO

26 Expert’s Viewpoint 4 Reasons Why Content Marketing is the best investment for B2B Start Ups and SMEs

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Entrepreneurship Insights

Market Research

ENTREPRENEURSHIP – THE CHALLENGES CONTRIBUTING TO SUCCESS

INTERVIEW 16

CG CORP GLOBAL Showcasing the Perfect Example of ‘Success’

Why Market Research Should be an Integral Part of a Business Plan

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Analyzen A One-Stop Digital Agency Par Excellence

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Invento Bangladesh

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Creating Digital Momentum

ARTICLE UNION OF NATIONS About the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

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KIEC Metamorphosing the Learning Landscape

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nfaktor Redeď€ ning Business with Effective Assistance

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PATH BREAKING

SOUTH ASIAN

The Changing Scenario of South Asian Countries

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outh Asian countries are witnessing a tremendous growth and what can be a better way than recognizing the industry stalwarts who are contributing distinctively in transforming the scenario of these countries?

In this edition, we introduce “The 10 Path Breaking South Asian Companies to Watch in 2019” , in order to assist businesses to choose the right companies. Assessing the scenario in versatile perceptions, our magazine has brought light onto the companies, who are providing excellent products and services in their respective fields. This list showcases the best South Asian companies that are benchmarking their presence in their respective sectors.

In this issue, we have featured The Carbon Consulting Company as the cover story. It is South Asia’s leading corporate sustainability advocacy.

Headquartered in Bengaluru, nFaktor is a business advisory and consulting firm that works with organizations to help them create and elevate their market impact- for their products, solutions, and services. KIEC is an educational consultancy providing student recruitment, consulting, test preparation, English language. Invento Bangladesh is a leading IT and Digital Marketing company operating from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Analyzen is the first ever one-stop Digital Agency of Bangladesh with the largest portfolio of brands.

We also have CG Corp Global as interview with insights success. With a prolific history of over 140 years, CG Corp Global is a multinational corporate operating out of Nepal.

Our in-house editors have come up with adroitly crafted an infographic - About the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) We have included articles like Entrepreneurship – the Challenges Contributing to Success written by Yash Bhatt who is the Co-founder and Head of Operations at SQuare Consulting (INDIA) and 4 Reasons Why Content Marketing is the best investment for B2B Start Ups and SMEs written by Karthik Nagendra who is the Founder & CEO at ThoughtStarters.

Also we have included article - Why Market Research Should be an Integral Part of a Business Plan written by Krishnakant Panchal, Founder and CEO of Rushi Market Research Services.

It’s time to flip the pages and take a tour of south Asian companies with a reading pleasure!

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The Social Enterprise Dedicated to Spread Corporate Sustainability

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We follow tried and tested approaches in helping our clients achieve their sustainability goals

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Sanith de S.Wijeyeratne Director / CEO

COVER STORY

The Carbon Consulting Company (CCC) is a ‘Profit-fora-Purpose’ social enterprise that lives and breathes sustainability. The company’s work primarily focuses on sustainability assessments such as Carbon Foot-printing & Offsetting, Water Foot-printing & Offsetting, Water Auditing, Energy Auditing, Waste Auditing, Life Cycle Analysis, and Biodiversity Assessments. The company also provides management and technical consultancy and advisory services on integrated corporate sustainability strategy & change management supply chain sustainability stakeholder engagement, GRI/Integrated reporting, carbon offset development projects (VCS/CDM), and international renewable energy certificates (IRECs). All of the company’s sustainability assessments follow international standards, protocols, methodologies and guidelines.

Inception Tale –Conquering the Initial Challenges The origin of the company traces back over eight years ago, when one of the co-founders realized that he needed to approach experts in London to get his company carbon footprint measured and offset. After understanding the fact that local companies would never go to that extent to be environment-friendly, Subramaniam Eassuwaren, with his close friends Fazal Fousz, Azam Ameer along with Nobel Laureate and internationally acclaimed Climate Scientist Professor Mohan Munasinghe founded the Carbon

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ith increasing awareness of environmental issues and the magnitude of costs associated with climate change, it has become imperative for companies to integrate environmental efforts into their business strategy. Over the past few years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) model captures a spectrum of values and criteria for measuring a company’s contribution to social development. Within CSR, there is an increasing focus on the aspects of “Corporate Environmental Responsibility” demanding environmental efficiency from organizations. Unless corporate citizens’ take proactive steps to manage the sustainability of the environment, the business will continue to have a negative impact on environment regarding the amount of the greenhouse gases produced, water polluted/wasted and landfill waste generated during their daily operations. A successful business of today is the one that contributes in establishing an eco-friendly environment. Companies needs to understand that it’s not a question of ‘can we make money out of this?’ it’s a question of ‘can we earn profits while being socially and environmentally conscious?’

We offer a diverse range of best-in-class consultancy services that cover all avenues of corporate sustainability

Consulting Company to offer the much needed corporate sustainability consultancy service in Sri Lanka and the region.

However even a year after setting up a team of technical and scientific specialists to cover both carbon footprinting and forest based carbon sequestration, the Directors found the company was not making headway. Companies did not fully understand the business benefit of taking steps to make their companies greener, and in the absence of any regulatory requirement were not keen on investing resources on such a course of action. With a continued drain on financial resources taking its toll, it was decided to look out for a leadership resource, who could turn around the struggling consultancy, by creating a business value in CCC’s service offering that would appeal to the corporate sector while at the same time helping clients who do make an effort to be more sustainable to gain the maximum benefit for their commitment.

It was then that the Board had introduced to its current CEO - Sanith de S. Wijeyeratne taking him on board to lead the company, and to re-vitalize its service portfolio and restructure the company operations.

Leading with Excellence Sanith has been at the helm of the Carbon Consulting Company ever since, taking it from its start-up phase to its current status as the country’s leading provider of Sustainability Solutions.

Starting his career as a corporate lawyer, Sanith made a drastic career change to focus on the fields of Marketing

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We see ourselves as a sustainability partner, not just another environmental auditor

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“We live and breathe Sustainability”

Communication and Strategic Marketing. He worked for global Agency brands such as Leo Burnett and Draft FCB, eventually heading the Strategic Communication Planning function. Later he helped co-found a local Boutique Agency – WORDS, in the capacity of Director of Strategic Planning & Media. Within the first year of its founding, WORDS was ranked as a Top 5 Agency at the local Effie awards for effective advertising and would also eventually win the country’s first ever Gold Effie Award.

It was Sanith’s passion for nature and wildlife, and his understanding that human development and industrial expansion was causing global climate change that prompted Sanith to once again make a dramatic career change to take over an environmental consulting company in the hope of making a difference to the world at large.

Sanith’s strategy was to create business benefits and leverage value from environmental activism which would appeal to companies rather than seek a high level buy-in from a corporate environmental responsibility angle.

Starting by re-branding the company’s corporate identity, he went on to create and establish brand marks and certifications that would help companies to communicate and leverage their corporate environmental credentials effectively.

Achieving Clients’ Sustainability Goals Carbon Consulting Company provides a diverse range of services depending on the environmental challenges faced by an organization or an individual. The company has developed a service model - 5Ms, which is Measure, Manage, Mitigate, Maximize and Market. The company has added another ‘M’, Materiality, a step that precedes all the above mentioned steps, which is used by sustainability assessors globally to identify the relative importance of specific environmental, social and governance issues that are of highest priority for a business.

“We don’t believe in short-term assessments, ours is a time consuming, stringent but productive process that encourages clients to commit to an extended period where they would continue to measure, monitor and reduce their environmental impacts over time without any external assistance,” says Sanith The company is best known for its carbon footprinting.

Additionally, the company has branched out into water, energy, waste, biodiversity and also helping companies formulate their sustainability strategies from the apex body of a company to downwards. “We firmly believe that unless companies build in sustainability at a corporate planning

SOUTH ASIAN

level, they will never really be able to go green. We want to be a real sustainability partner and not just another environmental auditor, and that’s essentially what we do”, Sanith asserts.

The Success Saga The term ‘social enterprise’ connotes a business enterprise that takes on traditional commercial strategies and practices to achieve social and environmental objectives that go beyond simply making the maximum ROI/financial returns on their investments. There is an excellent scope in the South Asian region for such social enterprises to make significant impacts. Given that it is difficult to ensure a business profitability and growth in such endeavors it is increasingly more important to have these issues addressed by companies which have a motive beyond making profits.

Hence, there is continuous need of a social enterprise such as Carbon Consulting Company.

CCC is the Asian partner for Natural Capital Partners - the world’s leading provider of carbon offset solutions, and the promoters of the Certified CarbonNeutral® brand. In addition CCC created its own range of certifications, - the Conscious® Range – ( CarbonConscious® / WaterConscious® / WasteConscious® ) and the ZeroCarbon® and WaterNeutral® certifications.

Today, the CCC has worked with over 100 corporate clients, and is responsible for the reduction of over 100 million kilos of CO2e from the atmosphere as well as saving over 20 million liters of water, and planting over 20,000 trees in managed agro forestry projects.

Some of CCC’s clients have been the first in the world in their respective industries to establish credible sustainability milestones. Eswaran Brothers were the World’s first CarbonNeutral® Tea Company. The Hirdaramani Group’s Mihila Factory was Asia’s first CarbonNeutral® Apparel Factory. Walkers Tours achieved Asia’s first CarbonNeutral® Vehicle Fleet status. The Hanwella Factory of MAS Holding’s; Aqua Trading Global (formerly Linea Aqua) was the World’s first Apparel Factory to be certified WaterNeutral®.

Sanith’s stewardship at CCC has led to him being awarded the prestigious Global CSR Leadership Award at the Global Awards ceremony hosted at the Taj Land End Convention

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We promote sustainable development and

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PATH BREAKING

support the drive towards a greener economy

Centre in Mumbai. The company was also recognized as The Best Company Providing Environmental Solutions, at the Middle-East Asia Leadership Summit and Awards 2017 held in Dubai. CCC has also been accorded the Climate Neutral Champion title by the United Nations Climate Secretariat.

Towards a Better Future Progressing forward with positive approach, one of the more ambitious goals of the company is to play a more significant role in the region, working with clients in a more in-depth manner instead of just auditing.

The Carbon Consulting Company would like to play a more significant role in molding some of the nation’s priorities and objectives. The company wants to help formulate policy mechanisms that affect the country for sustainability.

The Government also has to play an important role for the environment; it’s not just setting policies. There has to be a mechanism, there has to be a formulation of processes, and there have to be verifications and validations. However, there also has to be transparency and credibility. As such, Carbon Consulting Company as a company will be greatly aspiring for that.

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Binod Chaudhary Chairman CG Corp Global

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Interview with Insights Success

CG CORP GLOBAL Showcasing the Perfect Example of ‘Success’

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ith a prolific history of over 140 years, CG Corp Global is a multinational corporate operating out of Nepal.

Despite its humble beginnings, it is today the largest business enterprise of Nepal. It stands proud with 10,000 employees on its rolls, spanning in businesses in over 30 countries worldwide.

In an Interview with Insights success, Binod Chaudhary, the Chairman of CG Corp Global gave some insightful answers highlighting the influences made by him and the company in the business world.

1. Kindly brief us about the company.

My family’s history is one of making the best of hardship, of transforming difficulty into an opportunity. My grandfather left arid Rajasthan in the late 19th century. Seeking a better life, he came to Nepal to sell textiles.

Today, I am proud that CG Corp Global is present in over 30 countries. We are a conglomerate with 76 brands, 122 companies,

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and an employee base of over 10,000 people; we are genuinely a transnational company. Our business verticals include foods, hospitality, banking, cement, education, real estate, and clean energy to name but a few. Beyond these, I care deeply about improving the livelihood opportunities and health and social conditions, which I do through Chaudhary Foundation, where we run numerous projects.

My vision of creating Nepal’s first billion dollar corporation, producing world-class products and services, has been realised!

2. Please tell us something about your Founder/CEO and his/her contribution to the company and the industry.

My father founded what would become the Chaudhary Group, but I carried the business to new levels — I transformed it into the powerhouse it is today. I remember the moment when I noticed Nepalis returning home from Thai holidays or business trips; they were weighed down with box after box of instant noodles, and I realised this was an opportunity. By using

leftover flour from a biscuit factory, I began producing Nepal’s first instant noodles. I named the noodles Wai Wai. My most significant contribution, though, is ongoing. It is my ambition, my drive, and my willingness to take risks.

3. Kindly describe in detail about your services and products.

CG Corp Global’s products range from our famous Wai Wai noodles to clean hydro-electricity to luxury hotels around the world. In the Philippines, we operate a wellness resort called The Farm; it is an inspiring and healing place. I visit for two weeks and leave a new man: transformed, cleansed, and refreshed.

Our services cover an equally broad spectrum. CG Remit allows thousands of Nepalis, who work hard overseas, to send money home to their families; CG Education provides world-class schools and colleges in Nepal and abroad and; our telecommunications network will change the lives of millions.

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4. How is technology helping you or how technology has impacted the market in South-Asia?

Technology has the power to impact everything. Businesses must embrace the changing environment, and technological advancements enhance every aspect of the Chaudhary Group.

Take banking for instance. Banking apps and wide-reaching mobile networks bring financial services to people who otherwise would be unable to access them. In rural Nepal, visiting a bank branch could mean hours of walking. People who were once unable to save, or send money, can now do so without stepping out of their homes. This is just one example of how technology finds new ways to connect supply and demand.

Technology also affects me directly. So much of business is about people, and today’s technology makes it easier to build and maintain relationships across the globe. With video conferencing, I can meet regularly with my colleagues in Dubai, Singapore or Serbia without having to leave my office in Kathmandu.

As for the impact on South Asia’s economy; it is vast. More technology means more opportunities and more competition. There are new, gamechanging companies every day.

This is a fantastic thing, but we must always be on our toes, constantly ready to adapt to the changing scenery. There are

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opportunities in every industry.

Think of agriculture, for example.

In the 19th century, machinery began to make an impact in farmers’ fields, assisting workers and increasing productivity. Today, artificial intelligence, drones, and big data are doing the same thing.

Costs are falling, and yields are climbing.

5. Explain the industry challenges in terms of current trends, market players and cost?

In business and every market, there are always challenges. Today, rising economic inequality strains labour relations; disputes disrupt production and have knock-on effects down the supply chain.

Business is not just about growing profits; it is also about contributing to society. The jobs created by an organization must not trap people; they must provide real livelihoods with sustainable working conditions.

Another challenge is the rise of protectionist policies and political instability around the world. This strong current in the sea of global politics is hurting trade, businesses are suffering, and that is bad for everyone. Political instability means licenses are harder to obtain, supply chains do not run smoothly and the consistency of regulations is lost.

Perhaps the biggest challenge of all, though, is climate change. It is not just a risk for businesses, but the entire population. Through innovation, we must find ways to

continue advancing people’s economic conditions without causing more damage to our environment. We must move away from fossil fuels, towards cleaner energy; we should eliminate waste by repurposing by-products, and the materials we use for construction and packaging should be made less harmful.

6. What are the key areas where startups of South-Asian countries have made the maximum impact?

Technology, of course, is a springboard for innovation; there are unlimited opportunities for disruptive companies and forward-thinking startups. Asia has transformed rapidly from low-tech manufacturing to technologically advanced markets and has done so much faster than many western nations. In smartphone usage, in particular, Asia is leading the way.

It has led to a paradigm shift in producer and consumer behaviour, especially in the reliance on mobile apps. We have seen tech startups in e-commerce, travel, retail, education, entertainment, health and almost every other market you can think of — these will continue to make a significant impact for years to come.

7. Kindly share us with your Vision and Mission of your organization.

Our vision is to become a 5.5 billion dollar company by 2021. It is ambitious, but ambition is crucial for progress.

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Our mission is to become a globally competitive company and the most admired in Nepal. We will achieve this by developing longlasting relationships with our customers and meeting their needs with safe, effective and sustainable products. We invest in the employees we recruit, producing the best talents in Nepal and immersing them in a challenging and motivating environment.

8. How do you portray the future of your company in the coming years?

For CG Corp Global as a whole, the target is to be a 5.5 billion dollar company by 2021, and we are well on our way.

For CG Foods, my dream is to see a day when we produce noodles for every continent on Earth. For the Americas, we are studying Mexico because it offers a unique production base for export into the United States. If it isn’t Mexico, it will be somewhere else. We opened a plant in Europe and will soon begin operations in Egypt as well — we are well on the way. We want to be the first Nepali multinational to be listed in the New York Stock Exchange. We want our food brands recognised around the globe. I am lucky to be in a position where I can pursue my dreams and make real progress towards them.

For CG Hospitality, the target is to expand our portfolio of hotels to 200 properties by 2020. We

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currently have 86 hotels and over 4000 rooms across nine countries.

We also have at least 40 more in the pipeline that will expand our reach to more destinations around the world.

Perhaps more important than the targets we have set for our businesses, is the social and economic change that we hope to create. Chaudhary Foundation does great work around Nepal: empowering women, improving health, nutrition and sanitation, rebuilding homes and incubating businesses with social good at the core. This work is very close to my heart and is a priority for each of my sons as well. We are driven by improving the lives of Nepali people, creating opportunities and supporting an environment that allows prosperity for all.

9. What would you advise the budding entrepreneurs in your field?

Be ambitious and not intimidated by the competition. Rara and Maggi noodles dominated Nepal’s market when I launched Wai Wai. Had the presence of these brands frightened me, Wai Wai would have never happened, and the Chaudhary Group would never have reached the heights it has today.

to achieve your goals.

Restlessness ruins negotiation. The more you appear restless at the negotiating table, the more you lose. The person in front of you tries his best to corner you. A deal hinges a lot on how you talk and how you present yourself.

Discipline. Discipline is about two things: personal conduct and time management. How do you conduct yourself with your colleagues?

How do you present yourself before your partners, sales agents and buyers? These things determine your discipline. As for time management; when I was a young man on business trips in Japan, I would regularly have late nights, staying up till the early hours. But I would always be downstairs, ready to do business at 8 am. That is how I learnt discipline.

My final piece of advice is that if things need to change, then be part of that change. If you wait for the perfect moment to enter the battle, you will never make that first move. You cannot expect everything to be exactly as you want it to be, that’ll be too late. So either be the first mover, make the change and have that advantage, or be left behind.

Be persistent and never give up.

Have an unflinching commitment towards your objectives, regardless of the challenges you face. If one project does not work out, be prepared to switch to the next one

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Analyzen A One-Stop Digital Agency Par Excellence

technology, creative and strategic aspects of the company.

Ridwan Hafiz Co-founder

Started from a total investment of $100, Analyzen grew organically. Without any investment or any fundraising, it made its presence strong not only in Bangladesh but also outside the country. It now has an office in Singapore & Myanmar and altogether they work with over eighty brands in six countries.

Championing Digital Solutions

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he digital world has provided new ways for businesses to connect with customers. Those who want to stay at the top are leveraging this medium to reach out to the customers in new and more personalized ways. Partnering with businesses in their quest to connect with the customers is the first ever onestop digital agency of Bangladesh, Analyzen.

Laying the Foundations Analyzen’s journey started as a software company founded by brothers-in-arms Ridwan Hafiz and Sumit Saha. While Sumit is a great coder and learned everything he could in technology. Ridwan focused himself in customer acquisition, became an engineer and later started the digital marketing revolution in the country. Together they pivoted Analyzen into the digital agency that it is today. Later they took another partner Risalat, a Unilever veteran and the three of them complimented each other by individually focusing on

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Analyzen is an all-encompassing digital agency lapping up everything that falls under the category of ‘Digital’. It provides customized technology solutions to the major businesses for operations like Sales Automation, Market Activation System etc. It works on the mobile application, VR, AR and is now focused on AI. Majority of its business is on digital marketing. Starting from Brand strategy development, social media management, content creation, e-commerce optimization, community management and of course most importantly digital planning & buying – Analyzen does it all.

Leveraging Technology Always a pioneer, Analyzen started focusing on marketing using technology when the whole concept was very new. Focusing on the new-age technology and devising ways to translate it to help brands build more equity to get more sales is the biggest reason behind

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SOUTH ASIAN

Advertising isn’t just art; it’s a science

Anlyzen wants to be one of the topmost agencies of the whole world. With the growth of technology, advertising has truly gone global. With that, South Asian Company can do as good as a North American one. The South Asian tech industry has been always proactive and adaptive when it comes to the growth of the tech industry. Be it BPO, Software or Digital Marketing; South Asian companies have made their marks on the global scale. Analyzen’s goal is to benchmark its presence in all the continents and rule the arena of digital advertising. To achieve this goal, it is focusing on continuous innovation and smart implementation.

Pep Talk For the emerging startups, the duo advises to, “Find the necessity, use technology to fill the need. If one product doesn’t work out, be ready to pivot and pivot again until you find your sweet spot.” They insist that entrepreneurship isn’t a destination but a journey and that one should enjoy this journey as much as one can.

Analyzen’s success. It is always focused on using and building tools to understand data science better and optimize them accordingly.

Towering Over Challenges Considering the challenges, the duo says, “There was a time when Digital marketing was just a luxury. Overall marketing budget’s less than 3% was spent on Digital.

But now things have changed drastically and it is growing exponentially. There are so many companies for whom digital marketing is the only medium to grow.”

Social channels are today considered as the primary focal channel for the majority of the marketing campaigns. Maintaining the quality in times of stiff competition is the underlying challenge here. They further added, “Starting an agency is comparatively easy and there are so many people who are coming up and trying to undercut the market by not calculating the value of return on marketing investment. The industry needs to be more matured and every brand should learn to use digital marketing effectively.”

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Innovating Future Analyzen believes it can think, then innovate and bring changes. Every year, it needs to be better exponentially than it was in the previous year. The whole digital ecosystem is growing, and it is far from reaching a saturation point; Analyzen will set its footprint in other markets of South East Asia & South Asia to grow larger and become better.

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ABOUT THE SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION (SAARC) South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) It is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of nations in South Asia.

Founding Date December 8th, 1985.

Member Countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka The Secretariat of the Association Kathmandu, Nepal (Since 17 January 1987) Observer Countries Australia, China, European Union, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and the United States.

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SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Islamabad – Responsible for envisioning the economic growth and development by initiating, coordinating and facilitating regional as well as joint and collective activities in member countries.

SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), India – Responsible for supporting the Member States in their Disaster Risk Reduction initiatives through the application of Science & Technology, knowledge, exchange of best practices, capacity development, collaborative research and networking.

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SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC), Kathmandu – Responsible for prevention and control of diseases in the region by coordinating efforts of the Member States; exchange of information, research, capacity building and implement activities.

Union of Nations

Areas of Cooperation Human Resource Development and Tourism Agriculture and Rural Development Environment, Natural Disasters and Biotechnology Economic, Trade and Finance Social Affairs Information and Poverty Alleviation Energy, Transport, Science and Technology Education, Security and Culture

SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC), Dhaka – Responsible for providing timely, relevant and universal access to information and knowledge resources to all the agricultural practitioners of the SAARC Member Countries

SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Colombo, Sri Lanka – Responsible for promoting regional unity through cultural integration and intercultural dialogue and contribute towards preservation, conservation and protection of South Asia’s cultural heritage.

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Fact Spin 1. SAARC Summit is held once every year (emergency meetings can also be setup) with18 summits recorded till date and only once was the summit cancelled.

2. The main duty is the formulation of policies, review of progress, the establishment of an additional mechanism, the decision on new areas of cooperation and other matters of general interest to Association.

3. Amjad Hussain B Sial, a diplomat from Pakistan, is the current Secretary General.

4. Sri Lanka has the best Human Development Index (HDI) rank among the SAARC countries.

5. Maldives has the highest GDP and literacy rate among the SAARC countries.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karthik Nagendra Founder & CEO at ThoughtStarters

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Karthik Nagendra is the Founder & CEO at ThoughtStarters. Karthik is a serial entrepreneur with 15 years of experience across strategy, marketing, operations and HR. He has been instrumental in creating many award winning programs for leading brands like MeritTrac-India’s largest Skills Assessment Company, Wipro Technologies and Accenture in his earlier stints. He has worked closely with leading universities, industry bodies, analysts and research ďŹ rms globally and acted as a catalyst in providing best practices and insights to customers across sectors. He has authored papers & articles on marketing, strategy, gender diversity in international journals & has been a guest speaker at many Ivy League Universities globally. He has been featured among the Top 30 marketing Consultants in India by a reputed business magazine. Karthik holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Bangalore University & an MBA in Marketing & Finance from IMI Belgium. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Marketing Management.

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Expert’s Viewpoint

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dvent of advanced technology like analytics, artificial intelligence, the internet of things (IoT), augmented reality and blockchain have opened new avenues for businesses across many sectors. Numerous start-ups have come up in India in the recent years. As per Nasscom report, 1,200 plus start-ups commenced operations in 2018, including eight unicorns, We now own about 7,200 tech start-ups making us the third largest in the world. By 2020, the total count is expected to touch 10,000. Of the total number of start-ups, about 40% are B2B. With so many start-ups, do all succeed? As per Mohandas Pai, the ex-Infosys director, about 60% of them fail. The most common reason is their inability to reach the potential customers at the right time and failure to showcase their thought leadership around their product or services.

Challenges faced by start-up marketers

Problems faced by SME in content marketing* 2014 B2B Small Business Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs • SMEs and Start-ups face many challenges on their journey to becoming a trusted brand. The above graph can be summed as: • Lack of resources: Smaller enterprises lack the budget to get trained content marketers on board and thereby attempt to create the content using their in-house resources. They do not have the knowledge to create effective content as a result their marketing efforts may not give them the desired ROI or engagement.

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• Inconsistent execution of marketing activities: To ensure that thought leadership is established, it is important to post content consistently and in a sustained manner across various online channels. However, running this in-house can result in lapsed timelines due to their need to juggle multiple marketing activities along with various other responsibilities.

• Choosing the right content platforms: Different platforms are suitable for different forms of content. Due to lack of awareness, most start-ups market through ineffective platforms.

• Keeping up with trends and technology: New online marketing tools emerge in frequent intervals. Marketing using the latest tools and technology will only yield best results which these companies may not be aware of.

Content marketing for survival and growth • Adopting content marketing strategies would help the start-up achieve organic growth and scalable business. Below are 4 reasons why SMEs and Start-ups need to embrace content marketing: • Low investment high returns: Content marketing yields 3 times more return for every penny invested as compared to traditional methods like advertising. This is ideal for start-ups as they operate on a low budget.

• Higher Conversion rate: A study by eConsultancy found that brands investing in content marketing got 12 times the lead over their period of study and the chances of conversion were 5 times higher.

• Creates thought leadership: Content marketing focuses on building and showcasing thought leadership. They consistently post content that addresses the target market’s concerns and challenges and also offer a peak into what the future holds for their respective industries.

• Builds credibility: Building thought leadership not only attracts customers, but also potential investors to enable SMEs & Start-up to scale their business. Investors and Large enterprises like to pick up stakes in start-ups. Sustained content marketing to showcase thought leadership can help start-ups and SMEs achieve these dual targets simultaneously.

Value of engaging with the right content partner to grow the business For thought leadership to be established, the right mix of content strategy, development and marketing is essential. Content marketing should be treated as is a full time activity and needs to be carried out by dedicated trained pair of hands in a sustained manner to achieve the business objectives. Engaging with the right partner like ThoughtStarters will ease the pressure of the start up leaders.

3 areas where start-ups and SMEs would benefit by partnering with a content marketing agency are: Content strategy : There are various forms of content like Articles, Infographics, News Pieces, How-to-Guides, Press Releases, Videos and White Papers. A right partner will be able to offer insights on the best format of content for the target audience profile identified.

Content development: Our research shows that only 5% B2B buying decision makers believe content they receive from vendors showcases thought leadership. Quality content writers can help articulate the content piece in the right manner that can showcase the company’s expertise as well as speak the business language their target audience would love to hear from their potential service partner.

Content marketing: Content is only effective when it engages the audience. The right partner can help companies plan the distribution of the content in manner it reaches maximum target audience. This includes identifying the right online and offline channels that can create better engagement. Few such channels could be websites, blogs, webinars, podcasts, newsletters, online forums, industry journals, and other social media channels.

Given the numerous benefits, content marketing should become an integral part of the organization’s marketing strategy.

While the agency partner can manage the entire content marketing efforts end-to-end, the heads of the companies can concentrate on their core area of business.

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Invento Bangladesh Creating Digital Momentum humanity, meet SDG 2, 11 and 12 by creating new digital ideas.

An Ardent Leader

Ashfaq Rahman Founder

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ith each passing day, the software industry is growing at an amazingly rapid pace.

Digitalization is transforming the way in which businesses are carrying out their marketing strategies worldwide. A proliferation of the internet, growing usage of social media, and increased number of digital channels are some of the factors that drive the growth of digital marketing.

Since a lot of companies have realized the significant role of digital marketing, they are heading towards best digital marketing solutions. However, on the other hand, there is a lack of effective IT as well as digital solution providers with good knowledge and effective skills. This is where Invento Bangladesh put its step forward to understand IT and digital marketing needs of the clients. It blends best of design and technology to create unique and effective digital solutions that take a business to a new height. Invento Bangladesh is creating a seamless stream of Technological and Digital Solutions to facilitate businesses, social development, branding, and marketing. The company’s mission is to engage in the development activities for

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Ashfaq Rahman is the Founder of Invento Bangladesh.

Having completed his graduation from Daffodil Institute of IT on computing and information system, he has been engaged in providing freelance services to different clients in abroad right from his studentship. Later, he started a content platform called “Youthsparks” which is one of the first online magazines for youth in Bangladesh. Further he helped to develop a technology-based startup called “Osource Bangladesh” and worked as a software developer and senior project manager in the company. In 2014, he established his organization Invento Bangladesh which is working in the local market and providing technology solutions along with digital marketing.

Ashfaq is very keen in acquiring knowledge regarding the latest technology and trends and also deeply engaged in the betterment of the company. He is a geek, fitness enthusiast and social worker. Apart from Invento Bangladesh, he is engaged with different social organizations like “JCI COSMOPOLITION DHAKA” and a known face in the ICT Industry of Bangladesh.

Ashfaq’s advice to budding entrepreneurs, “I would like to suggest my fellow entrepreneurs to first understand the problem has a simple solution, conduct the feasibility before jumping into any business. Furthermore, failure will always

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From small retail stores to complete ERP solutions, the company is dedicated to provide best-in-class services to the clients.

Standout in the High- Tech World

We are blending best of design and technology to create e ective digital solutions

Technology has helped the company in solving B2B and B2C barriers existing in the market of Bangladesh. Using technology, the company has been able to generate optimum ROI for many organizations in Bangladesh. It has also provided software solutions to many organizations, which have helped them in eliminating human errors, reducing human efforts to bring the utmost results.

Currently, the company is exploring the latest technologies to craft digital marketing solutions and ensure the best utilization of the digital space.

Identifying Challenges -Creating Opportunities

be there and only failures lead to success, so I would like to recommend never to give up or not to lose hope�

Offering Effective Services Invento Bangladesh is a digital creative agency that focuses on design, consulting, and technology. The company has been building unique digital products, platforms, and experiences for the past four years. It is dedicated to providing best-in-class services comprising of Websites, Customized Software, ERP, POS, Cloud Solutions, Mobile Apps (Android/iOS), Domain Hosting, Digital Marketing, Creative Asset Production, and Consultancy. Invento Bangladesh is a full-featured Software and Digital Marketing Company that provides complete ERP, POS, Website and App solution as well as Digital Marketing to yield the optimum ROI. Operating in its initial years solely as a software company, Invento soon realized the growing demand for digital marketing and established digital marketing wing in 2016.

Currently, the company is dedicated to offering both software and digital marketing services. It provides software and website solutions to over 100 clients globally.

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Presently, the digital and software industry is facing a couple of challenges. Most of the times, people are yet to be technology and fail to understand the value of acquiring digital solutions. Market players have played a pivotal role to create a funnel where there are lesser potential clients and an increased number of service providers, and ideas are replicated every day. Also, raising fund has been a major issue both in Bangladesh and in this sub-continent.

The startups of the South-Asian counties could be the catalysts in solving humanitarian problems and considering the population as an asset. Issues like trafďŹ c, water and sanitation, hygiene and global warming has brought in more calamities, which can be either reduced or contained using digital solutions. Invento is overcoming all these industry challenges with proďŹ ciency.

A Road towards Better Future Progressing forward with a positive approach, the company aims to be a leading company and a prominent software solutions provider in South Asia, having 2 or 3 major products or mobile applications along with providing the best Digital Marketing solutions across the globe.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Yash Bhatt is the Cofounder and Head of Operations at SQuare Consulting (INDIA) .His passion is to study and understand the trends that will work in the future by evaluating present consumer buying behavior. He primarily helps entrepreneurs sustain businesses for their growth and makes sure that stays relevant to the expectations of consumers and builds value for the market.

Yash Bhatt Co-founder & Head of Operations SQuare Consulting (INDIA)

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E

ntrepreneurship is a difďŹ cult path to pursue and an Entrepreneur has to be a difďŹ cult nut to crack, the ultimate acid test towards success is starting a business and sustaining it with the right momentum. There are a lot of different challenges and obstacles that bring about their contribution towards success, one step at a time. The most fatal mistakes that an Entrepreneur makes are also the most obvious or common. Here are some of the major mistakes you can avoid while starting up and lead towards building a business that stays on the top of the game.

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Entrepreneurship Insights

ENTREPRENEURSHIP THE CHALLENGES CONTRIBUTING TO SUCCESS • Vision is Key – Any business idea can be good if it has the right kind of vision and ideals behind it. The problem with most of the star-ups is that they usually start with a bang but that is the end of it. A lot of people focus so much on the bang that they don’t know that there is a timeline beyond the bang and that is where a vision or a direction comes into play.

• Strengths v/s Weaknesses – What a business needs are to know both its strengths and its weaknesses, no one and nothing is unbreakable.

What a lot of failed businesses don’t know is everything is solvable and that is accomplished by embracing both the positive and negative aspects of pursuing a dream and a vision.

• Problem Solving – A successful business is not one that offers means to an end, but an end that eventually justifying all the means.

Nothing is trivial or worth ignoring when it comes to Business.

Everything, every little step, every little act, all of what goes down with a startup is leading up to something extraordinary and as an entrepreneur it is your job to know what action needs to be taken at what point in the journey towards greatness.

• Assessment of Financials – It is nothing less than obvious when a business is starting up in the head of the entrepreneur, there are a lot of dreams and aspirations that one has from his / her startup venture. The biggest problem in this is the fact March 2019|

that there is little to no room for assessment of financials and the allocation of the funds (which are usually limited) to the correct departments or aspects of the business. This mistake or insight usually leads to a key conundrum that a lot of startups fail to consider or factor in.

• Competition Assessment – Knowing who you are competing with is highly important when it comes to starting up in a market with existing players in space, it is imperative to know what their challenges are, and what they’re doing well. It is this general sense of being aware of situations that will lead to knowing what the end consumer will be willing to spend for in a market where everyone is making similar mistakes and too afraid to make new ones.

• Set Goals – Knowing what you want to accomplish as a result of starting your business venture is one great way to make sure you do.

What will the business look like in 1 year, 3 years and 5 years from now is a question every entrepreneur should ask themselves.

This helps the business to reach a level of higher life expectancy in comparison to the businesses which have no distinguishable or measurable goals.

• Build a Great Team – A good business team brings a variety of experience and skillsets to the table.

It is usually seen that new ventures (especially challenging ones) build teams in a hasty manner which

usually doesn’t work out well for the venture or the team behind it.

• Know your Core – Every aspect of the business is of utmost priority, right from choosing the right name to the right kind of scale for the business to the right team allocated to do the work for the vision of the company but most important of them is to know the core of a business when it comes to its offerings. Be it a product or a service, the core of a company is what determines how the company is going to conduct itself and how the company will proceed to grow.

• Great Marketing – It is important to create excitement and demand for your product / service and use a variety of communication channels to do the same, this is what makes way for putting in an effective sales strategy and a customer strategy into action. In a market where the attention span of the consumer is very limited, it becomes more than important to grab eyeballs or make thumbs stop.

In the words of noted American Advertising Leader, Howard W. Newton “People forget how fast you did a job-but they remember how well you did it.” This is what every entrepreneur has to know and apply when it comes to starting your dream venture. These and many more such challenges are what shapes your direction towards Entrepreneurial Excellence and greatness. So, go on follow your dreams.

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KIEC Metamorphosing the Learning Landscape

Rajendra Rijal Founder & CEO

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insightful team has been its backbone, who has catapulted the success journey through crests and troughs.

The Man ‘Behind the Scenes’

stablished in 2006, Kathmandu Infosys Educational Consultancy (KIEC) is defying the conventions and aiming to transform the learning landscape. With unified efforts, the organization is striving to redefine the field of student recruitment, study, career counseling, and test preparation. Located in the capital city of Nepal, KIEC has empowered thousands of Nepalese students to pursue their dreams of receiving world-class education and finding the right career path.

Successfully working for more than a decade in the sector of Study Abroad & Student Recruitment, Rajendra Rijal is the Founder and CEO of the company. He is a young, dynamic and enthusiastic personality, who is QEAC, ITAC, USATC and ENZ certified agent for abroad study programs and a trainer at TITI. Since inception, he has been a visionary to deliver quality education for Nepalese students at its best.

Authorized by Nepal Ministry of Education, the consultancy has 10 branch offices in the major cities of Nepal and international offices at Australia (Sydney and Melbourne). Acknowledging the client choices, KIEC spends a large amount of budget in organizing weekly educational seminars and fairs inviting a team of representatives from the reputed universities of Australia, USA, UK, New Zealand and Canada.

Rajendra’s farsightedness and knacks has helped KIEC to convert every challenge into opportunities and reach to the peak. Under his zeal, energy, and vision, the company has come a long way. His belief of doing ‘right investment in right time at right place’ makes him successful in whatever he does. Embracing ‘team work’ and ‘freedom at work’, Rajendra not only strives for the company’s success but also for his employees’ eminence.

Providing exceptional and quality services is what best describes KIEC! Producing students with globally recognized education and highly skilled man power with utmost perseverance, dedication, and passion, KIEC is now one of the leading educational consultancies in Nepal. Its forte of ‘quenching clientele’ has helped it to create a niche in its sector. Leading with excellence, the company’s

Apart from all this, support, valuable suggestions and guidance of Rajendra’s wife Namita Shrestha, who has thirteen years of experience working for students’ admission in several countries, has been the key to organization’s growth and success. Together they have achieved numerous milestones in this field and have been able to sustain in the competitive global market.

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• Helping students get plane ticket at reasonable cost.

Aiming to dwell in the heart of millions of students desiring to di erentiate and touch the untouchable KIEC – A One-of-its kind Company “We believe there is no fun working without challenges. We must learn to embrace the challenges if we are to evolve,” says the founder.

Every week, the consultancy organizes two free educational seminars for different colleges and universities of different countries, where students receive one-to-one counseling from the college or university representatives. Students with very good academic background are further assisted to secure scholarship from their chosen college or university.

Excellence in maintaining documents is one of the major reasons behind KIEC’s high visa success rate. Its IELTS, PTE, TOEFL, SAT, GMAT and GRE classes are run by highly qualified, trained and experienced instructors.

Classrooms well-equipped with modern technologies, spacious laboratory for practice and oceans of materials attract hundreds of students. The consultancy leaves no stone unturned in improving students’ English language skills.

Other services of KIEC include: • Organizing 3-5 intensive classes for students on how to write a good SOP. • Preparing students for visa interviews.

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• Assistance in finding accommodation in the country students are moving to.

Over the years, embracing the cutting-edge technology has helped KIEC in achieving whatever it wanted. To be precise, communication and IT has had a tremendous impact in its success so far. The consultancy has a separate department allocated for IT, where the IT specialists and consultants contribute to advertising the brand through social media, web portal and several other search engines.

This tech-enabled initiative enables in promoting and disseminating the information about the upcoming events to the students.

Living by ‘Let’s make this world a better place to live in’, KIEC believes that ‘quality and practical education’ are the keys to transform the education landscape. Thus, the vision and mission of KIEC is to bridge the gap between Nepalese students and International education.

For more information the customers can visit the online portal of KIEC. An Advisory Note KIEC believes that success comes with ingenuity and originality. As such, it advises the newbies to come up with the ideas they have faith in. The emerging entrepreneurs should work with a philosophy to fulfill the dreams of their clientele.

“Be original, be faithful and be supportive. Just adore and respect your customers and their choice, milestones will follow you,” adds Rajendra.

Now and Next Today, KIEC is known as a trend setter in Nepalese market – an organization with a ‘Midas Touch’. Backed by resources, infrastructures, technologies, positive thoughts and a prominent, the consultancy is all set to be an untouchable and unstoppable superpower in the global market. Within the next 10 years, the consultancy will have its offices in South Asian countries, especially in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In short, KIEC aims to be recognised as the most trusted International Educational Consultancy along with its expansion in other parts of the world.

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Krishnakant Panchal Founder & CEO

About the Author Krishnakant Panchal is a Founder and CEO of the company.

He is young, enthusiastic and most innovative in the eld of Market Research. Rushi Market Research Services is a Marketing Research and Consultancy rm, incorporated in 2012, with Team and Expertise to provide the best Market Research Assistance to the companies of different Sectors. Krishnakant has more than 16 years of experience in the eld of market research and analytics.

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March 2019|

Market Research

Why Market Research Should be an Integral Part of a Business Plan

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he product or service your company has to provide.

Its end use is a set of people and purchasing power.

Those are known as target markets. Where they share their needs and characteristics. The target market helps your company to develop appropriate and effective marketing and develop business.

There are different improvements in the ever-changing market of ever. If you want to know about the change of the modern market and want to give your business the right place in a competitive market, then marketing research is needed for continuous research. It is necessary to understand market research, to reach your target audience and to know the competitive company. Which is full of great importance for you to increase your sales.

The risk of running any new business is high. You may need to search for money to start a new business. Those who wish to invest in your business. Those people may need to give some evidence. You can show them the evidence prepared by Market Research. And a good report prepared by market research helps you reduce the risks and risks associated with your business.

If you are running a business for a long time, then a different part of your daily business’s operations should be market research. Which is very important to you.

You can learn about the risks and opportunities in the

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market through market research. And with that information you can make specific decisions in your business. A good decision can be made because of the exact information you have. The market risk reduces the risk of the business due to the wrong decision taken by you and the cost of money.

Helping you make the right decision because of accurate information you received in your hand.

Market research helps you in this.

• Help identify new products and services in the market.

• The trends or changes in the market help in the immediate or expected event.

• Knowing the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the customer and being dissatisfied, help find out the reason.

• Help your competitors stay ahead of one step.

• Helps to know the signs of a quick decision and warning in your own business.

• In your business, it helps to know where the advertising medium is more effective.

• Helps your business get updated with the new technology coming up.

• Helps you find out whether the new ideas you have are likely to be in the market.

Your new concept reduces the risk of failure. And it provides a proper way. It reduces the risk of getting into your business. Market Impact is a tool for the business. It helps in settling your business in a short time and increasing profits in the business. Due to lack of knowledge about

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market research and being unsure of running market research properly, much less market research is conducted in most of the business.

your customers, it becomes easy to target them and therefore get your sales route is there.

Research in the business industry is the first step in market research to keep current active and the latest changes in market use. However, changing of market research varies with the nature of the industry. As an industry husband or marketing giver. You need to know the importance and meaning of market research in business.

One of the reasons for common reasons in the business is market research which helps in increasing sales in a short period and in transit. To increase sales in businesses, people work on different methods and themselves are familiar with new technologies and used in businesses which are used for more sales. Market research is an effective way of identifying the areas of success for the business.

You might not have thought that large industry husbands allocate large amounts on market research for their business. The reason of its importance is that. That they can help to understand and understand new information every day in the market and gain proper guidance in their business. Companies such as Google, Google, and the Railways are investing money for the research of the latest trends for gaming technology and market research.

Improvement in customer relations and management Market research is used to get a better understanding of your target audience and by providing them products and services that are connected to their desires and needs, asking them to ask questions about your business and getting them a good response from your customers. Ask them how they know your brand about your brand vs. Pick and choose what areas of.

Conservation behavior can help the contestants know better, so they help them to move forward.

Develop in business A complete market research helps you find more and more challenging opportunities that can help you grow your business better to increase your business, you need to do something better than promised promise that will delight your customers and connect your brand to your business will be easier to grow.

Your business, products or services are able to meet the needs of your target audience. If your answer is yes then it is possible that you have invested money in market research since the very beginning. But if your answer is no, you need market research to move your business forward and target.

Reduces risks in your business.

Handling the market research helps in measuring the risks involved in implementing different decision-based measures for your business, after detailed research and deepening research, it provides a proper guidance for whether to work on decisions or not. Probable to be. If there is a market research with remarkable evidence, you will have to go for it. However, providing a lot of data or selfconfidence is not a research, then you should not take risk.

Size Brand Reputation How can any business know if they like their brand or not?

Market research helps in measuring its brand reputation in the market among its target audience in periods of time, it is a great way to see what is the need or extraordinary to move forward in your business and to compare your situation to your expectations.

If there is a need for a bigger investment, if there is a new specific activity, you will need market research for market analysis which will help you to understand how this risk will remain.

We believe that before you start a business, market research further explains how important it is. A detailed analysis of the situation, consumer, environment, and marketing trends can give you a better understanding of what is needed to succeed in your business. Helping businesses in the better understanding in all the activities that work well in the market

Sales rise By repeatedly researching market research, you can make your business products / services more effective, which indirectly leads to your sales. If you hold on to the ideas of

Market Research in Business for Summary This factor is not limited to. Start marketing expertise and give her proper importance to market research and check out what works best for your business.

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nfaktor Redefining Business with Effective Assistance

Neel Sinha Founder

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n Conversation with Insights Success, Neel Sinha, Founder of nFaktor gave some insightful answers highlighting the influences made by him and the company.

1. Kindly brief us about the company. nFaktor (www.nfaktor.com) was founded in the year 2015. Headquartered in Bengaluru, nFaktor is a business advisory and consulting firm that works with organizations to help them create and elevate their market impact- for their products, solutions, and services. nFaktor’s services include Growth marketing strategy, Branding and designing, Content marketing, and Social media campaign management.

MyLnk (www.mylnk.in) was founded in 2017. MyLnk is an innovative link shortener and URL management platform. It helps marketers to customize and personalize the web links. MyLnk is the perfect solution for the businesses to reach the right audience with branded and customized website links.

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2. Please tell us something about your Founder/CEO and his contribution towards the company and the industry.

I have been in the industry for 25+ years and it is a remarkable journey till now. I am the founder of nFaktor and MyLnk, and leading an amazing team of around 50 people. IIM alumni, and an engineer; I have always been fascinated with marketing. My robust sales background helped me to acquire clients, and define the growth road map for the company. My digital age business mantra is simple Happy Employees = Happy Clients.

3. Kindly describe in detail about your company services and products. nFaktor is a Business Advisory and Marketing Consultancy that focuses on evolving marketing channels that deliver smart content and perceptive brand messaging. In a world where transformation is the norm, ideas rapidly convert to start-ups, start-ups become fortune companies and corporates spawn off divisions as large profitable companies themselves. We work with such growth focused companies and corporate teams to help them enhance their market presence. We offer services that include Brand strategy, Go-to-Market planning, Digital Marketing, Sales Enablement, and Demand Generation.

MyLnk is URL management and link-shortening platform created by nFaktor. It helps marketers to customize and personalize the web links. Brands can measure and manage their campaigns with link analytics and insights.

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4. How is technology helping you or how technology has impacted the market in South-Asia?

It is not about how latest and advanced the technology is but the way technology is applied to make problems simpler that matters. We leverage technology quite a bit on our business.

Our product MyLnk is a demonstrator of our use of technology. The simplicity with which it helps solve a marketer's need for analytics and measurement is phenomenal specially when it adds the flavor of personalization to marketing. We also use technology specially while integrating the mix of traditional, offline, social and digital platforms for marketing.

5. Explain the industry challenges in terms of current trends, market players and cost?

Current trends: As far as current trends challenging the small business and startup industry is concerned, it's always evolving with each passing day and one needs to be on their toes to be innovative. With the immense amount of power with the common man lies the capability to make or break a revolution.

Market players: Referring to market players, how can any business or industry be without competition?

There’s fierce competition coupled with most having unrealistic growth expectations. Hiring suitable manpower is another challenge. Apart from that there are partnership decision-making issues. Financial management, cyber security, and winning trust of customers are critical yet delicate challenges facing the market players.

Cost and business finance: Cash flow management is one of the most essential parts of any business.

Entrepreneurs need to ensure they have knowledge of their business finance. Also, they should surround themselves with a credible finance team who can help them to understand micro-level details. When faced with costing and financial troubles, startups are the first ones who suffer due to inadequate financial management and eventually succumb to the pressure.

While the thumb rule that the industry follows is of minimizing costs we top it up with our efforts to go higher up in the value chain and generate greater

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revenue against the value we deliver to our customers 6. What are the key areas where startups of SouthAsian countries have made the maximum impact?

South Asia is experiencing a positive economic momentum making it the fastest growing region in the world. Take an example of India, from Ola to Zomato and Dunzo to Flipkart. The momentum of all these startups is just unstoppable. The focus areas for startups have been on improving the overall health and primary education levels and upgrading infrastructure.

The tech startup scene is getting hotter by the year in the South-Asian region.

7. Kindly share us with your Vision and Mission of your organization.

Vision: To foster the growth of employees and make marketing accessible to every business.

Mission: To provide effective and integrated marketing solutions, and transform client brand into a revenue generating machine.

8. How do you portray the future of your company in the coming years? nFaktor foresees itself as an enabler in the emerging new market growth - both in external market reach programs, and internal sales and channel enablement programs. Having already expanded its business beyond shores this financial year, nFaktor will launch its first overseas presence that will cater to the South Asian and Australian markets.

9. What would you advise the budding entrepreneurs in your field?

Build the right team. A high-level of success can be achieved only when you have a right team who understand your vision and are aligned to it. Looking after your team will make them productive and happier.

It also helps as your trust brings their commitment to your business.

Markets, Technologies and Buyer Expectations are dynamic, however what remains constant are relationships. An entrepreneur’s ability to build those lasting relationships be it directly or through market messages that it puts out is key to market success.

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