Naropa Impact Summit 2020

7th–12th September 2020

The Naropa Impact Summit 2020 marked a watershed in the Naropa journey as Fellows shared their entrepreneurial ideas with a mentor network, ecosystem champions and angel investors.

The academic curriculum at the Naropa Fellowship is tied together through a year-long, hands-on Live-Action Project (LAP) which encourages the Fellows to design sustainable entrepreneurial solutions for the local community in Ladakh and the Himalayan region. The Naropa Impact Summit witnessed a showcase of 21 LAPs from the Naropa Class of 2020 to high-impact individuals, such that they further evolve as regionally relevant start-ups.

To celebrate entrepreneurial mindset and its relevance towards employability, the Naropa Impact Summit 2020 ran two tracks:

1. Entrepreneurship/Venture Mentorship Track

  • Mentorship support towards furthering the Live-Action Project journey/product/service
  • Customer acquisition/growth opportunities through the mentor network
  • Access to a network of angel investors/government grants/private supporters for incubation/acceleration opportunities in future

2. Employability/Lifelong Learning Track

  • Access to key 21st century workspace skill sets and opportunities
  • Networking with future employers and thought leaders
  • Opportunity to showcase and celebrate the Naropa journey

Designed as a networking launchpad for Naropa Fellows, the Summit brought together more than 20 mentors, investors and thought leaders from across the country. These included Sushil Ramola (President, Integrated Mountain Initiative), Anshu Bhartia (CEO, UnLtd India), Kartik Desai (Executive Director, Asha Impact), Sunil Arora (Textile Industry Champion & Angel Investor), Luis Miranda (Chairman, Centre for Civil Society), Saurabh Jain (Vice President, PayTm), Amit Narang (Senior Account Director, LinkedIn) and several others.

Overall Event Flow

  1. 7th September (Day 1): Summit Launch & Panel Discussions
    • Panel 1: ‘Challenges & Opportunities for Entrepreneurs Amidst a Pandemic’
    • Panel 2: ‘Tackling New Trends at the Workplace’
  2. 8th–9th September (Day 2 & 3): Venture Mentorships (45 mins per LAP)
  3. 10th–11th September (Day 4 & 5): Employability Workshops
  4. 12th September (Day 6): Venture Pitching & Summit Proceedings

Day 1: Summit Launch & Panel Discussions

(7th September)

Summit Launch:

The Naropa Impact Summit 2020 was launched at 2 pm on 7th September 2020 by the Director, Jesleen Lalmuanawmi. The summit was hosted virtually from Ladakh, with attendees joining from India, Nepal, Bhutan, USA and England.

Panel Discussion I:

‘Challenges & Opportunities for Entrepreneurs amidst a Pandemic’: 2:00–3:30 pm
Speaker-cum-Moderator: Saurabh Mittal (Founder, QYON)

Speakers

  1. Anuj Sharma (Founder & CEO, ALSiSAR Impact)
  2. Anshu Bhartia (CEO, UnLtd India)
  3. Kartik Desai (Executive Director, Asha Impact)
  4. Sushil Ramola (President, Integrated Mountain Initiative)
  5. Sunil Arora (Textile Industry Champion & Angel Investor)
  6. Shalabh Mittal (CEO, School for Social Entrepreneurs India)
  7. Dr Aoife Brophy Haney (Research Lecturer in Innovation and Enterprise, SSEE & Saïd Business School)

The panellists engaged in an intense discussion on how entrepreneurs can navigate the challenges of today’s world. Views were exchanged on capacity building, social impact and financial sustenance while focusing on the need for innovation and collaboration towards building a sustainable future of the Himalayan Region.

Panel Discussion II:

‘Tackling New Trends at the Workplace’: 3:30–4:30 pm
Moderator: Nandini Nair (Literary & Culture Editor, Open Magazine

Speakers:

  1. Amit Narang (Senior Account Director, LinkedIn)
  2. Luis Miranda (Chairman, Centre for Civil Society)
  3. Dr Marcus Ranney (General Manager, India Thrive Global)
  4. Saurabh Jain (Vice President, PayTm)

Taking from the previous discussion on entrepreneurs navigating the current business landscape, the second panel discussed several pressing issues within the context of today’s workplace. The panel gave valuable insights on how young professionals can create a broader public impact while having a fulfilling career.
The first day of the Naropa Impact Summit 2020 set the tone for a promising event over the next six days.

Day 2 & 3: Venture Mentorships

(8th -9th September)

Due to the virtual nature of the Summit, the Naropa Fellowship hosted ecosystem champions from across India and the US for the Venture Mentorship sessions. As budding entrepreneurs, the Naropa Fellows received dedicated mentorship on their Live-Action Projects from these esteemed mentors:

  1. Anuj Sharma (Founder & CEO, ALSiSAR Impact)
  2. Sushil Ramola (President, Integrated Mountain Initiative)
  3. Sunil Arora (Textile Industry Champion & Angel Investor)
  4. Shalabh Mittal (CEO, School for Social Entrepreneurs India)
  5. Saurabh Mittal (Founder, QYON)
  6. Anshu Bhartia (CEO, UnLtd India)
  7. Ankur Warikoo (Co-Founder, Nearbuy)
  8. Dr Subhrangshu Sanyal (CEO, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park)
  9. Dr Nikhil Agarwal (CEO, F.I.R.S.T. IIT Kanpur)
  10. Priyadarshinee Shrestha (Joint Secretary, Integrated Mountain Initiative)
  11. Roshan Rai (Darjeeling Ladenla Road Prerna, Integrated Mountain Initiative)
  12. Vivek Rao (Founder, RenYi Capital)
  13. Subu Ramachandran (Portfolio Management, Trident Investment Management)

Mentors had one-on-one discussion sessions with various Naropa Live-Action Project groups to help the Fellows distil their venture ideas. The sessions helped Fellow entrepreneurs strengthen their pitch and gain a deeper understanding of the current business scenario. They were also encouraged to mature their ventures more holistically keeping in mind the present tumultuous times.

Day 4 & 5: Employability Workshops

(10th–11th September)

The Naropa Impact Summit 2020 hosted by the Naropa Fellowship organised the first set of Employability Workshops on 10th & 11th September.

  1. Sonakshi Batra (Account Director, LinkedIn Talent & Learning Solutions–North)
  2. Ravi Ramakrishan (CEO, TMI Group)
  3. Dr Marcus Ranney (General Manager, India Thrive Global)
  4. Sudha Sastri (CEO, Inputs HR)

Sonakshi Batra conducted a ‘Rock Your Profile’workshop. She covered various basics of building an impactful LinkedIn profile and established how the platform is used beyond networking to consume content on the global workforce.

Ravi Ramakrishnan delved into the current job market, analysing specific industries and functions post the pandemic’s outbreak. The Fellows grasped some crucial attributes of an employer’s perspective, and how they locate potential employees through networking platforms -connecting the learnings from the LinkedIn workshop.

Dr Marcus Ranney conducted a workshop on ‘Building a Sustainable Career: the secret hacks no one told you about to achieve long term success’. Discussing how success is usually defined, Dr Ranney gave the Fellows a fascinating understanding of the neuroplasticity of change and emphasised on self-care, which needs to be prioritised now more than ever and can be achieved through “Microsteps”.

Sudha Sastri’s session ‘Landing “the” Job’ was yet another beneficial workshop for the Naropa Fellows. The key learning for the Fellows was Sudha’s framework of 3 R’s: Research, Reflection, and Readiness. She also dedicated time to resume building and examining interview scenarios to illustrate how one can present their best selves.

Day 6: Venture Pitching & Summit Proceedings

(12th September)

The Naropa Fellows pitched their ideas to the Jury concluding the 6th Day of the summit.

Venture Pitching: 10:00 am–1:30 pm

Pitching Jury:

  1. Saurabh Mittal (Founder, QYON)
  2. Anuj Sharma (Founder & CEO, ALSiSAR Impact)
  3. Anshu Bhartia (CEO, UnLtd India)
  4. Sunil Arora (Textile Industry Champion & Angel Investor)
  5. Shalabh Mittal (CEO, School for Social Entrepreneurs India)
  6. Amit Narang (Senior Account Director, LinkedIn)

Summit Proceedings: 2:30–3:30 pm with:

  1. Pitching Jury
  2. Saurabh Jain (Vice President, PayTm)
  3. Vikas Gupta (Co-Founder, 9.9 Group)
  4. Srikant Sastri (Chairman, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park)
  5. Pradeep Mittal (CEO, GreatFour Systems)

Top 3 Pitches:

  1. Sharent
  2. The Duluwa Project
  3. Byoul AgriTech Solutions

Digit will be providing promotional packages to all Naropa LAPs through its Digit India Project. Each promotional package will be worth 15 lakhs INR and can be utilized as a whole or in a staggered fashion.