Introduction to doing business in India , Yogesh Kale

1. Introduction to doing business in India
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
By
Yogesh Kale
Director – 4Nature Oy
Moderator – Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange ( NTTE )

2. 4N – Company business Case
• 4Nature OY Ltd manufactures and supplies Eco-
Friendly Smart building material & solutions, with
special focus on infrastructure capacity building in
emerging economies.
• 4Nature has business activities in India, Nepal, Central
& West Africa, Russia and Finland.
• NTTE – facilitates trade & technology exchange in
addition to International Business Development for
NORDIC companies looking for expansion in India &
parts of Africa
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3. Doing business in India
• 4Nature Oy - India experience – since June 2012
• Projects implementation in Bihar (a north eastern
state) Maharashtra (western state) & New Delhi
(national capital region)
• Current Projects in Konkan region ( close to Mumbai &
Goa)
• NTTE – in existence as an informal advisory since 2010
– has been formalised as a company very recently.
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4. India - Culture & Diversity
• India is a vast country & cultural diversity is
enormous
• 325 Spoken Languages
• 1652 dialects
• 18 Official Languages
• 29 states & 7 Union territories
• Population 1,3 billion
• Literacy : 66 %
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5. India - Business
• Indian businessmen in general are sensitive & watchful of
smallest of gestures
• Sell yourself before you sell your product or an Idea
• Hospitality is common practice.
• Feelings & relationships are important (for decision making)
so it’s a good investment to build trust
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Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange

6. India Business Culture
• Indian businessmen in general are sensitive & watchful of
smallest of gestures
• Sell yourself before you sell your product or an Idea
• Hospitality is common practice.
• Feelings & relationships are important (for decision making)
so it’s a good investment to build trust
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange

7. India Business Culture
• Do not underestimate Indians or India in any way
• ‘My way or the highway’ attitude will halt your journey
before it begins
• Disturbances & distractions during a business meet is
common, does not mean lack of interest.
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8. India Business Culture
• New Ideas must be accompanied with endorsements &
history of success, that could be verified
• First time Ideas (never implemented before) are usually
a challenge to implement
• Disagreements are not aired openly & directly
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9. India Business Culture
• Bargaining for price or concessions is very common, do
not take it personally. Always keep a price buffer
• Flexibility in negotiations is expected
• Straight forward offers are not always a good idea
• Avoid insisting on commitments and decisions in your
first meeting
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10. Some Significant Aspects
• India is a Heterogeneous Society, therefore differences due to
region, religon, language & cast can vastly change the etiquettes,
behavior & approach of people.
• HIERARCHY in business environment
• Respect for age & experience
• Women doing business in India will receive lot of respect &
courtesies however has to SOMETIMES put in extra effort to close
deals.
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11. 4N India experience – what helped us
• Building relationships with Dignity & self respect
• Establishing trust ( Not going to run away)
• BE CAREFUL – and always be on the right side of the law
• Right business partner.
• Not succumb to paying bribes, there are ethical ways too.
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12. Concluding words
• There is no specific formula for success in Indian Business
Environment - Having a right partner can certainly change your
fortunes.
• Appreciate Price sensitivity & make that a part of your strategy
• Seeing is believing – foes for products & People.
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13. Thank You
yogesh.kale@4nature.fi
+358 45271 5151
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange