(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
The Peninsula
Doha: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Doha Chapter held a two-day Startup Summit recently, which featured specialists from globally celebrated brands and institutions sharing stories on the fundamental aspects of running a business, including ease of doing business, innovation, technology, leadership and risk management. The event was attended by more than 150 members and dignitaries, apart from many attendees who watched the meeting live on YouTube.
The event started with the welcome address of the Chapter Chairperson CA Nirlep Bhatt who also introduced the event's Chief Guest, H E Dr. Deepak Mittal, Ambassador of India to the State of Qatar and the Guest of Honour, CA Nihar N Jambusaria, President of ICAI.
During the event, the Ambassador reiterated the positive ecosystem for startups in India as well as the growing interest and investment in the Indian startups by renowned Qatari enterprises by citing relevant examples.
Jambusaria went on to explain how the financial and tax literacy of the MSME and startups are important for growth and opined that startups can spur growth, foster innovation and generate employment.
The keynote address was given by Sheikh Ahmed Abdulla Al Thani, Director of Sharaka Holding, who was introduced by the chapter secretary CA Vignesh Kalyanraman. Sheikh Ahmed lauded the ease of doing business in Qatar, and elaborated on a slew of investment and financial activities undergoing in the Qatar Free Trade Zone and Qatar Financial Centre. Sheikh Ahmed also highlighted the role of Qatar Development Bank in providing seed funding, mentoring and consultancy to the startups.
Day one of the virtual summit included a session by CA Rajiv Gupta, Vice President and Group Head Internal Audit, at Flipkart on how startups can leverage technological advancements. CA Rajiv presented the concepts of virtual offices, virtual financial services of which startups and micro-SMEs can take the advantage.
CA Sheji Valiyakath, Managing Partner at Kreston SVP Chartered Accountants gave insights on doing business and establishing startups in Qatar by stating key facts, figures and legal framework of the vibrant and ever-progressive Qatari economy. Day two saw a marathon of sessions which focused on varied aspects of best practices, success stories, innovation and nurturing stronger startup ecosystems. Varun Sridhar, CEO at Paytm Money shared the success story to inspire the professionals and his own experiences about how to achieve exponential growth. Ghanim Al Sulaiti, Founder and CEO at Enbat Holdings Qatar, spoke on how the diversification of various business and innovative thinking lead to the success of enterprises.
Anirudh Damani, Founder and Managing Partner of Artha Venture Fund, conducted an insightful technical session on wealth creation by investing in startups. He astutely presented relevant industry researches, key statistics and risk factors about investing in startups. Damani also analysed various business sectors in which lucrative opportunities are available for the investment.
A special panel discussion on trilogy of startup success- Finance, Leadership and Governance was also moderated by CA Ravi Shankar, Finance Director at Qatar Rail. The elite panel included eminent speakers who are successful c-suite executives, angel investors, startup mentors and professionals including CA Siddarth Pai, CA Anurag Mittal, Anirudh Damani and Samir Inamdar. The panel deliberated and engaged in the stimulating discussion on critical issues pertaining to the business and investor communities.
During the event, Chapter Treasurer CA Kamlesh Tibrewal moderated the Q & A session,while the vote of thanks was offered by Chapter Vice Chairperson CA Ankit Agarwal, who also expressed gratitude to the members for their active participation and sponsors for their invaluable support. Members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India residing in Qatar and desirous of seeking membership of the Chapter may contact, CA Nirlep Bhatt (55578173) or CA Ankit Agarwal (77549707).
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