PANJIM: Goa’s start-up brigade is not thrilled with the manner in which the ecosystem for start-ups in the State has been functioning in the last four years.
Shocked over the death of Café Coffee Day founder V G Siddhartha, who allegedly suffered pressures from many quarters including I-T department, entrepreneurs speaking to Herald were clear that the pressures faced are many and there is much room for improvement.
“From my experience of last four years, creating a technology-driven business in Goa is difficult with major challenges such as unstable infrastructure, poor quality talent supply, frail government support besides the technological backwardness of our people,” Vincent Toscano said. Toscano is the founder of Uzoorba (Goans Empowered with IT), Vice President LLP, founder and Co-Lead Project GEIT Goa IT Professionals (GITP).
“A place which could have been a true Silicon Valley of the East is fast degrading into a third rate tourist destination while our brain drain accelerates. This reflects lack of vision of our political leadership so far with petty stunts rather than concrete action in the name of sustainable progress. Unless the government demonstrates its determination with high-speed action (not words and paperware) this situation will deteriorate further resulting in our collective and irreversible loss as people,” Toscano said.
Goa has around 220 start-ups and to take it to CCD level would require efforts from an entrepreneur and less government interference. The government needs to help entrepreneurs who can help provide jobs to contribute to the overall economy growth.
Goa IT entrepreneurs are not happy with the incentive disbursements. Nilesh Nayak, Director of Sapna Technologies, an export unit said, “IT policy incentives, finalisation and disbursement of incentives will help IT companies and start-ups to scale up faster. For export-oriented start-ups, refund of input tax credit is cumbersome and slow.”
He said it should be online and refunds must be processed soon. “Lack of clarity on GST items, particularly on refunds, is not clear. EDC is archaic when it comes to lending to IT and start-ups. In most cases, collateral is a must whereas IT companies do not have much of assets such as plant and machinery or finished goods,” Nayak said.
Speaking on Siddharta’s death, Luke Sequeira, founder and CEO of Numadic–Undisrupting Logistics said, “Stress is experienced in waves and comes via peripheral forces – market pressure, investors, governmental/admin bodies, internal teams and from our own mind. The entrepreneurial journey is one of learning to face the barrage of such waves, but even the strongest entrepreneurial spirits will have a hard time being battered by more than three waves striking at the same time. Sadly, this is what we saw happening few days ago.”
Remmie Azavedo, CEO of Fabcoders based in Goa but serving Norwegian countries said, “It is tougher to be an IT entrepreneur in Goa. Though there is scope for Goa turning into an IT hub, the issues have remained the same. The talent pool in Goa is small. There are no funding opportunities as there are hardly any investors in Goa.”
“Even EDC does not approve loans for IT companies. We had pinned hopes on IT policy but there has been delay in benefits to deserving companies. Positive steps have been taken by Goa University to improve the job readiness of students passing out from engineering colleges so things will improve on the talent front.”
Rohini Gonsalves, MD of Sevarat Healthcare and Nursing Pvt Ltd believes that every entrepreneur starts with some ideals and dreams. “One intends to earn money, fame, acknowledgment and more often than not, contribute to humanity. The entrepreneur ends up spending most time and efforts ‘proving oneself’ and is credit worthy. But what does he get in return? Yes, he receives scrutiny, mistrust, his ethical degradation, his struggle to balance between doing the right thing with the constantly dangling sword of condemnation, judgment, debt and failure.”
Gonsalves said one needs to keep proving the mettle albeit human oversight or misgiving. The irony is that often one has to prove that he has it figured to a bunch of people who have not. One reaches the end resilience from every failure and gets exhausted living up to the ideals and putting up with the outcomes of his right and wrong decisions.
“And despite all the noble intentions, right actions and even innumerable contributions one reaches a place where it means nothing anymore. Pursuits of the enterprise become worthless. Everything in life seems meaningless and this is the dark side of entrepreneurship,” Gonsalves said.
