ISB leadership summit ends with session on crowd funding

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 21

The ISB leadership summit concluded here today with a business session on “Crowd funding hopes: Social impact” along with the Bollywood actor and co-founder of Ketto, Kunal Kapoor, regaling the audience with personal anecdotes on dealing with roadblocks in the social impact space. Kapoor also shared his inspiration to co-found Ketto and building it to the phenomenal success it was today.

Ketto, is an Indian crowd funding platform that has raised close to Rs 400 crore for different social causes. Kapoor outlined the challenges facing the social sector, his personal motivations for starting this platform and what he saw as the future of crowd funding.

He delved into how Ketto was conceptualised as a way to use technology as a bridge between people, who could give and people who need.

Using his personal experiences, Kapoor engaged compassionately on the role of financing and how organic growth was at the centre of Ketto’s social impact.

The event’s second day today hosted some major stalwarts across various industries that included Harj Dhaliwal, MD, Virgin Hyperloop One, Rahul Maroli, VP, Enterprise Business, Ola Cabs, and RS Kalsi, executive board member, Maruti Suzuki India.

In his address on “Hyperloop – Vision to reality”, Harj Dhaliwal spoke on the need for the advent of a new mode of transport. He mentioned how Hyperloop as a platform would leverage big data and automation to radically transform the development of smarter cities that were currently plagued by overpopulation. He also touched upon the impact Hyperloop would have on the logistics of time sensitive and high value shipments through its inherent efficiencies.

In the discussion on “Driving India forward – The future of mobility”, RS Kalsi provided insights on how the current downturn in the automotive sector was influenced by both cyclical and structural issues. He expressed optimism for the sector’s future, though with the slew of policy changes he saw on the horizon.

In the session on “Women in leadership – Barriers, biases and way forward” Ainara Kaur, founder and CEO Canvilicious Creative Tech, said, “Problems exist in terms of women under representation in top leadership positions, stemming from social biases and stereotypes.”

Dhanya Rajendran from The News Minute, stated, “De-genderisation is the way forward. No one should be confined to prescribed gender roles.”

Neerja V, Inspector General of Police, Chandigarh, said, “Empathy, commitment to excellence and self-confidence are traits women should possess.”