Driven by indigenous IP and
technologies, Indian companies will emerge as providers of
high-value knowledge and consulting services across the world,
believes Renuka Ramnath, managing director & CEO of
ICICI Venture Funds. The high-profile leader of the pioneering
VC fund in India shares her candid views in this interview with Sanjay
Gupta:
Do you see IT and BPO sectors
becoming more IP and technology driven?
Yes. As a country, we have been
focusing on research for several decades, but have perhaps not
effectively capitalised on the resulting IP within India.
We have seen several instances
internationally, where Indians have successfully monetised
intellectual capability. But things are changing. I think Indian
intellectual capability today enjoys global recognition.
As Indian industry starts taking
more interest in supporting academia, the talent will be better
used in India.
What have been the shifts in
venture funding recently?
In the early ‘90s, Indian venture
funds invested in start-ups and early stage companies that were
based on innovative technologies.
The trend in late ‘90s shifted
towards financing start-ups in the IT and internet-related
services segments. The current trend in venture capital funding
is to concentrate on companies with established revenue models
and customer base.
However, I think these shifts are
merely reflective of the opportunity currently available.
Venture capitalists will keep looking at funding companies
through the entire spectrum.
After the dotcom burst, what are
the avenues that VCs here are now looking at?
Every economy presents various
opportunities at various stages in time, and VCs adapt their
investment patterns depending on the avenues available.
Today, India has proven its
capability in building successful business, both in the
knowledge and real sectors. Venture capitalists are focusing
currently on late-stage financing, where there are several
opportunities in a growing economy such as ours.
Can the labour-intensive Indian
companies become high-end knowledge service providers?
Certainly. I think the process has
already begun. We have already seen our companies migrate
successfully from being mere service providers to solution
providers, at least at a basic level.
To be seen as a preferred choice for
high-end knowledge service, India will have to invest
significantly into research for the future. We certainly have
the intellectual capability, and the challenge is to see how
this can be converted into economic capital.
