Enterpreneur's Meet
Bangalore, Aug 30: The Federation of Konkani Catholic Associations (FKCA)
organised Entrepreneur's Meet on the 30th of August to form the Entrepreneur's
Forum. The purpose was to bring together Catholic Entrepreneurs on a common
platform for their common good and for the good of the society. The programme
was held at The Park Residency, Bangalore.
The programme started with a
prayer and introduction by Mrs. Albina Vaz, Vice Chairman, FKCA.
Mr. Charles Gomes, Chairman welcomed the gathering and explained the objectives
of the proposed Entrepreneur's Forum. He also gave a brief overview of the
various activities of the FKCA. Mr. Joachim Serrao, Project Leader of the Meet
gave a summary of the last Entrepreneur's meeting held on the 17th of November
2007 which had laid the foundation for the present gathering and a step towards
forming of the Forum.
Mr. Albert Tauro, Chairman and Managing Director of Vijaya Bank who was the
Guest of Honor for the programme urged Catholic Entrepreneurs to build up their
business with single minded devotion. He stressed that Finance and Support today
was easily available from Banks to Entrepreneurs who had a vision, who are
honest and fought their battles with courage.
Mr. Anil Rego, General Secretary of FKCA then highlighted some important points
pertaining to the Lead Members and Members from the Bye-laws which had
previously been circulated to the Entrepreneurs.
Mr. Ivan Fernandes, a young and
successful entrepreneur, who spoke on the occasion stressed on the need for
networking for Entrepreneurs today. Mr. Fernandes is the Founder and CMD of
Ducont, Dubai and Founder of the Kanara Entrepreneurs Ltd. Ivan is also the
President of The Indus Entrepreneur (TiE), Dubai Chapter. TiE is global,
not-for-profit network of entrepreneurs and professionals dedicated to the
advancement of entrepreneurship. It is the largest network of entrepreneurs in
the world with 43 chapters in 10 countries and around 10,000 members. Mr.
Fernandes is also the President of Kanara Entrepreneurs Ltd., an
entrepreneurship organization that was setup in 2004 to promote the economic
development of the Kanara region and the entrepreneurs hailing from this region.
The gathering, in view of the tremendous experience of Mr. Fernandes and the
support that he has been extending to the FKCA's Entrepreneurship Forum
initiative, requested him to be the Mentor for the group, which he kindly
accepted. Mr. Valerian Fernandes, Past Chaiman of FKCA, Mr. Robinson D'Souza
Principal Secretary - Karnataka Legislature, Government of Karnataka, Mr.
Gabriel Vaz, Political Editor, Economic Times, Mr. Max Mendes, Businessmen from
Canada and Mr. Felix D'Souza, Congress Leader were some of the other dignitaries
present.
Several Entrepreneurs present enthusiastically came forward to join the
initiative as Lead Members and Members.
Mr. Anil Rego proposed the Vote of Thanks.
