INTHEBLACK February 2024 - Magazine - Page 41
In a further positive sign for India,
Santhanakrishnan suggests that growing
consumption will not be confined
to just food – sectors such as travel,
entertainment, fashion, cosmetics and
health care are also set to flourish.
BIG ROLE FOR ACCOUNTANTS
In such a thriving business market,
Mahesh believes the opportunities
for well-educated and experienced
accountants will be significant in
coming years, as they help clients
navigate a strong, but complex, business
environment.
Mahesh points to the success of
Financial Crest, which was set up just
four years ago and powered through the
pandemic on the back of its accounting
and tax compliance services, in particular.
The company has opened offices in
the US and is considering an Australian
presence, too.
“Honestly, things have gone even
more positively than we expected,”
Mahesh says. “Of course, there were
challenges for a lot of businesses during
the pandemic, but today I would say
they have all bounced back and are
doing twice what they were doing
pre-COVID.”
Bhattacharyya is confident that India
has all the elements to attract foreign
investment and business at a time
when global geopolitical tensions have
spooked some markets.
“India is a very safe bet for global
investors,” he says. “The fundamentals
of the economy are strong, we have an
English-speaking population, a strong
legal system and a stable political
environment, so we tick a lot of boxes.”
For domestic businesses, there are
great signs too. With Cookr hitting
the spot with a growing number
of consumers, Santhanakrishnan
is confident it will be one of many
successful start-ups in India in the
decades to come.
He believes India is poised to be the
growth capital of the business world.
“Based on what I see from all the
economic activities around the world
today, if you have $100 in your hand, the
fastest way to make it double is in India,”
Santhanakrishnan says.
“What the start-ups have done, in
terms of aggregation and
streamlining processes, is ensure
that any benefits reach the bottom
of the pyramid. It’s not just about
the so-called ‘privileged class’ — the
benefits are flowing down, and all
people are getting an opportunity.”
ACHIN BHATTACHARYYA CPA, NOTEBOOK
Educational tech boost
Achin Bhattacharyya CPA has
seen the equalising power of
technology when it comes to
accessing high-quality education.
Bhattacharyya is the founder of
Notebook, an online platform that
provides audio-visual educational
content that can be used both as
a classroom teaching aid and for
home-based learning.
The Deloitte director says
he inherited his passion for
accessible education from his
grandfather. “I saw him dedicate
a large portion of his life to the
education of rural children.”
Education and skills
development will be crucial
to India’s ongoing success
and economic growth, and
Bhattacharyya says technology
can help even the playing field.
“To ensure we give everybody
an equal opportunity, especially
those children living in remote
parts of the country, digital is the
way forward.”
One positive to come out of the
pandemic, says Bhattacharyya,
is pushing more teachers and
students to use online learning
tools. “They’ve had to embrace
new technology and new
ways of teaching, and that has
contributed to a massive adoption
of digital platforms. Now they
are very comfortable with it.”
Notebook has been front
and centre of the digital
evolution, offering its learning
platform for free for two
years during the pandemic
to ensure that housebound
children could still learn.
Encouraging talented
homemakers and senior citizens
to contribute to content has been
one of the factors behind the
business’s success, along with a
focus on a story-telling method of
teaching that nurtures creativity in
young minds.
The business has also adopted
bilingual education – using
Hindi to teach English – to
increase the confidence of
first-generation learners.
“We wanted to help children in
any way we could,” Bhattacharyya
says. “As a stakeholder in
society and as a responsible
brand, we had to do it, and
we were happy to do it.”
As Notebook continues
to grow and make a
difference, Bhattacharyya
hopes his late grandfather
would have been proud.
“This business gives me a lot of
satisfaction. At the end of the day,
business is important, but to build
something that is sustainable and
scalable and that touches a lot of
lives is highly rewarding.”
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