Motorcycling & Management Education
Dr. R Srinivasan and Dr. Sai Chittaranjan Kalubandi, faculty in the Strategy area at IIM Bangalore, with the support of the Big Biking Commune, launched a unique workshop course for IIMB’s students this year – Motorcycles Immersion in Local Entrepreneurial Settings (MILES). Twenty-three MBA students, from the PGPEM at IIMB, set out on a seven-day motorcycle tour, across three states in South India, immersing themselves in a variety of entrepreneurial contexts, ranging from Channapatna toymaking, model school, PPP village governance, leather manufacturing cluster, lorry-body building, and a public service hospital.
Watch the introductory video here: https://youtu.be/Z2k4hj-mRrM
MILES: Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya
The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, established in 1988 and affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education, is located in the remote area of Hondarabalu village in Chamarajanagar District. Funded by the Central government to provide free education for socially backward, financially challenged kids from rural areas, the school admits 80 students each year in Standard VI and they pass out after completing Standard XII. The school inculcates discipline, time management, punctuality and self-management at an early stage, but many of the students are only aware of engineering or medical courses. They are not aware of other career choices such as in mass communication, for instance, or in music, art, craft or even sports. Since admission is restricted to just 80 students, industries can form an association as part of their CSR, provide funding and replicate the same model to help kids beyond the ambit of JNV.
Watch here: https://youtu.be/hff6doyDWSU
MILES: Odanthurai
Odanthurai, in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, is a Smart Village as notified by the central government. To be recognised thus, the village has to be self-sustaining, and Odanthurai is self-sustaining in terms of requirements of electricity, potable water, livelihood and waste management. Odanthurai houses 850 houses built under public-private partnership. This initiative was driven by Mr Shanmugham, who installed a 350-kilowatt capacity windmill, which generates enough electricity for the village. Presently, they have shifted from windmills to solar energy, and generate enough electricity to give back to the grid. This village generates Rs 11 lakh as monthly income, and boasts zero waste, sustainability in water requirement and sustainability in electricity requirement. But can this model be successfully replicated in another village, city, district or state?
Watch here: https://youtu.be/M6K09AkIyZk
MILES: Channapatna
The Bharat Arts and Crafts toy factory reflects the ethos of Channapatna, the toy town some 70 kilometres from Bengaluru. The toys made here, using natural colours and ivory wood, are environment friendly, safe for kids and have a unique identity because they are provided with GI tags. The factories employ women too, which not only provides them with a source of income but also respect in the society. However, they face stiff competition from inferior quality toys from Chinese manufacturers who use plastic. This particular toy factory is located in an obscure street, so lack of visibility is a deterrent to sales. Moving to a more prominent location could boost sales, as could having an in-house design team. With greater corporate endorsement, aggressive marketing and governmental assistance, this traditional art form will get a much-needed fillip.
Watch here: https://youtu.be/OizjjnYkSFw
MILES: Namakkal
Namakkal in Tamil Nadu is renowned for its truck-building industry and one of the leading lights in this field is the Gauriamman truck-building facility. Their business model is beset with challenges, the three primary ones being scalability, business continuity and resource capability. There is also a problem when it comes to passing on technical skills to the next generation. Currently, that’s being done on an informal basis but that’s not sustainable in the long run. As there is no automation, this is a hugely laborious process-oriented industry, unlike in the West. Also, they don’t possess inherent innovation capabilities, which means that they are challenged from an innovation standpoint. A framework to put things in place won’t be out of place.
Watch here: https://youtu.be/bXOgRwDizp8
MILES: Ambur
Farida Exports is one of the biggest players of footwear manufacturing and export in Ambur, generating a revenue of US $239 million. They are contract manufacturers for major American, Polish and German brands who work mostly in a B2B market. Unfortunately, they have not been able to get the same traction in the B2C space, and are primarily dependent on their customers and on contract manufacturing. While they do enjoy a 20% margin, they are unable to scale up to B2C because they have done little to build their own brand. Also, the entire industry is heavily dependent on animal leather, and the growing population of vegans and the thrust on non-animal leather isn’t something they aren’t prepared for, though they are confident they will be able to survive because they are a premium brand in a premium market who deal with niche customer segments. Growing pollution control is another challenge, though in Ambur, the tanners have come together to form Ambur Tech, an effluent treatment company which converts nearly 80% of waste-water into reusable water.
Watch here: https://youtu.be/XHr7p5MOdFQ
MILES: Puttaparthi
Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh is famous for the hospitals, universities and sports facilities built and run by the Sri Sathya Sai Trust, a non-profit organisation. A tour of the hospital revealed high-quality infrastructure, facilities and staff, and world-class scanning and detection mechanisms. A variety of doctors from across the world visit the hospital and provide service for free. Both the hospital and the university don’t charge those using the facilities, and the latter focuses on the holistic development of students. The entire ecosystem is therefore majorly dependent on donations, and how well they manage the funds to cater to the society free of charge. This is a model that is replicable if there is a wish and will from like-minded individuals in the society. Our country is so vast and diverse that it’s impossible for the government to reach every pocket, so this is a case study in how to build something big without a defined source of income.
Watch here: https://youtu.be/YdSKgdK78V0
