By Rahul Nainwal
India is steadily moving towards its next phase of development, fast becoming the start-up hub of the future. According to the Economic Survey 2021-22, India has become the third largest startup ecosystem in the world after the US and China with a record 44 startups turning unicorns in 2021 and with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, the startup ecosystem has become even more more lucrative for Indian startups.
Emerging as a popular career choice among students and working professionals in India, entrepreneurship and micro entrepreneurship have shown great potential. Today, India has enormous opportunities for entrepreneurs to grow and hone their skills and rise as leaders.
Now one can easily aspire to start one’s own venture, produce innovative and affordable products locally and flourish. But to succeed in this driven environment, students interested in pursuing entrepreneurship must stay one step ahead of the competition. The popular TV show, Shark Tank India, has left a mark in the mind of every young entrepreneur and innovator to start and run a ‘successful’ business. However, it is important to understand that acquiring the right skills and expertise that make one more confident and prepared, in line with the needs of the industry, is critical to professional success.
Keeping in mind that today’s young graduates must have the experience to operate productively as entrepreneurs, MBA programs in start-up and entrepreneurship have become very useful by providing a solid foundation for entrepreneurship, offering valuable business knowledge, skills and insights to mitigate failures and increase the probability of success.
What the program offers:
The program provides intensive and holistic guidance to students who want to create their own start-up or work in corporate and social innovation, the two-year full-time postgraduate program will help students understand the nuances of entrepreneurship and learn to grow their business. The curriculum is focused on imparting knowledge related to marketing, human resources, finance, business, strategy and all other functions that are required to run a business. Ambitious students will learn the process of innovation and how to create a competitive advantage to help an organization exceed its strategic goals. Students will be provided with an insight into the implementation of new processes, ideas, services or products by companies with the aim of increasing results.
Many B-schools that offer this course also help students apply classroom learning to hone expertise and guidance through campus incubation and acceleration centers. This also provides students with an opportunity to meet potential investors to raise funds for their start-ups.
Through a carefully designed curriculum and faculty of the highest academic expertise, students are prepared to:
- Understand new technologies and leading markets.
- Improve skills such as influence, empathy and building business strategies, the hallmarks of successful entrepreneurs.
- Strengthen a fundamental understanding of entrepreneurship with on-campus expertise and guidance in startup or innovation labs.
- It gives credibility and accelerates the pace of professional development from a global perspective.
- Expand and diversify your professional network through incubation and acceleration centers, interaction with industry leaders.
Eligibility criteria
MBA start-up and entrepreneurship is one of the most sought-after courses that can be acquired by students of any profession. A student must have a bachelor’s degree in any relevant field from a recognized college or university with a minimum aggregate of 50% and then you can get admission based on the results obtained in the entrance exam.
Some of the well-accepted management entrance exams in India that are conducted to shortlist students for admission to the course are CAT, XAT, NMAT, MAT, SNAP, CMAT, etc. In addition to these entrance exams, many business schools conduct an individual aptitude test that qualifies applicants for that business school.
It is the author dean of the UPES Business School.
