THE RAINMAKER

Rajkumar Kamat Executive Director, BNI Goa Region speaks about the sensational take off, struggle and success of BNI, on the occasion of its completion of 10 glorious years in Goa

BNI (Business Network International), known to be the world’s leading business networking and referral organisation, has also achieved tremendous strides in India – becoming India’s largest and most successful business networking organisations, as well. With core objectives of offering the best business opportunities, contact sharing and business referrals, BNI Goa strives to enable its members to thrive in the business scenario by building relationships and creating a well thought-out and compassionate system of giving and receiving business referrals.

Genesis of BNI Goa
It was way back in 2008-2009 that Rajkumar Kamat was asked by GSIA (Goa State Industries Association) to form and Chair the Micro Industries Development Cell, wherein problems faced by micro industries were discussed at large. Paperwork and marketing were identified as key issues; following which there were proposals made to the Government to reduce paperwork, while also identifying consultants to help micro entrepreneurs in the State.
At this point, a decision was taken to strengthen the marketing aspect through improvements in the price preference rate contract system of the Government and Rajkumar was invited on the board of GHRSSIDC, which happened to be the nodal agency procuring items manufactured by the micro industries for Government Departments.
With positive support from the Board and Managing Director Nikhil Desai, some headway was made; however, Rajkumar realised that the results were not commensurate with the efforts that had been put in, which in turn led to the idea of targeting the private market segment.
During one of his trips to Pune in 2009, Rajkumar, for the first time, was invited to a BNI meeting. He stood absolutely mesmerized by what he saw – entrepreneurs coming together and helping each other elevate their businesses through passing of referrals and recommendations. It was at this juncture, that Rajkumar realised that ‘this’ is exactly what he was seeking for Goa! BNI encompassed all sectors – not just manufacturing, which GSIA laid focus on.

Thereafter, Rajkumar got in touch with the BNI India National Director, following which there was a detailed discussion and training that he received in October 2009. Knowing that this entire process would entail substantial allocation of time, Rajkumar, who himself is the Founder and Managing Director of EP Kamat Group, decided to switch his own business into auto mode; and from December 2009 onwards, worked towards the launch of the BNI chapter in Goa. About four months later, Aparant, the first chapter of BNI in Goa was launched in April 2010.

Growth Trajectory
Having launched BNI Aparant in April 2010, Rajkumar recollects sitting with members speaking about their growing business, sharing learning experiences, bonding with families and generally enjoying their journey. This is when, his close friend Arch. Devadutta Borkar, who was based in Margao, pushed him towards the idea of starting a BNI chapter in South Goa – a decision that Rajkumar had been postponing, considering the time involvement.
At one of the Chapter Meetings, Manoj Patil, the first President of BNI Aparant chapter, invited the then Leader of Opposition and Goa’s dynamic and visionary leader, Late Manohar Parrikar as a special guest. Parrikar, upon witnessing the events of the meeting, stood thoroughly impressed by BNI’s positive energy, transparency and potential that made him suggest taking BNI to every corner of Goa, thereby giving every interested entrepreneur an opportunity to grow their business by joining the network. Rajkumar says, “While we knew that there was scope for the growth of BNI in Goa, the requisite push and vision to make it happen was provided by Late Manohar ‘bhayee’ Parrikar!”
According to Rajkumar, from this point onwards, there was no looking back! Arch. Borkar took on the responsibility of launching the BNI chapter in the South, while Ajay Gramopadhye took the task to mentor the new chapter and that is how BNI Mathgram was launched in February 2011, in Margao.
Thereafter, in 2012, Rajkumar’s good friend, guide and BNI mentor, Murali Srinivasan, District Director, visited Goa and mentored them in the formation of the Regional Team which would work on expanding the number of chapters and supporting entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
Rajkumar says, “It is at this time, that we, the BNI Team, brainstormed and created a vision of helping 1000+ entrepreneurs generate New Business of 1000+ Crores per annum thereby creating employment for 10000+ people”. We have been moving towards this vision steadily but have now accelerated the pace in this 10th Anniversary Year.”

Values and Ideals
BNI’s core philosophy is “Givers Gain” which happens to be an extension of the universal phenomenon of ‘what goes around comes around.’
That aside, BNI’s seven core values include: Positive Attitude, Lifelong Learning, Supportive Relationship, Tradition, Innovation, Accountability and Recognition. Their members are initiated into this system through continuous trainings and education. Every activity that is carried out in BNI including the weekly meetings, further these core values, and ‘givers’ are recognized all along the way.
At the end of the day, every BNI member, in each chapter, works continuously towards identifying business opportunities for their fellow members. Rajkumar clarifies that with everyone working on more or less the same attitude of giving, everyone benefits.
According to Rajkumar, as supportive relationships develop within the network, entrepreneurs get deeply involved with the social aspects, as well. BNI therefore, becomes a complete package of business, fun, close support system and learning, besides of course, personal growth and evolution. All these benefits occur in different degrees based on the participation of the individual entrepreneur member in following the basics of BNI.
“I believe the genuine desire of the BNI Team in Goa to support entrepreneurs and the unique system in place which ingrains the lofty core values, which have been enumerated, has been responsible for the organization thriving over the last 10 years,” exclaims Rajkumar.

The Dream Team
Though Rajkumar may have sown the seeds of BNI in Goa and has been overseeing its overall progress in the State, BNI Goa has been nurtured and grown by many of its passionate BNI stalwarts, who have enthusiastically volunteered their valuable time, experience and efforts to bring it to the level that it has reached today.
The North and South Goa regions of BNI are being led by Andre Shackleton and Parag Loliyekar, respectively; and are ably supported by Arch. Devadutta Borkar, Arman Bankley, Ajay Gramopadhye, Valerine Fernandes, Anand Chatterji; and a host of other commendable leaders.
Prior to this, BNI Goa has witnessed the unrelenting contribution of Rasik Naik, Manoj Patil, Vinay Verma, Dinesh Dhulapkar, Rohit Mehta and Nimisha Kamat Nadkarni, who is Rajkumar’s daughter – all of who have substantially guided the growth of BNI Goa from its very inception to a membership base of about 500+ people and were well supported by more than 30+ Directors and Ambassadors.
Simultaneously, BNI Goa has also been actively organizing various programs and events – all of which are aimed at business growth through the medium of learning and networking.

 

Adding Value
It is indeed a commendable feat that BNI Goa, besides providing a platform for business growth to Entrepreneurs and employment to the community, also develops more than 100 leaders every year for the commune, as well. The term of a Chapter Leadership team is 6 months, wherein BNI organizes ‘Member’s Day’ or an Awards Night where outstanding contributors and leaders are recognised. This also includes entertainment, bonding and learning activities where speakers across various sectors are invited to offer valuable and critical inputs to entrepreneurs.
From 2015, BNI Goa started organizing the ‘Goa Biz Fest’ thereby offering learning, networking and growth opportunities to not just BNI members but other Goan entrepreneurs, as well. This Fest involved participation from various prominent industries, organisations as well as Government Departments wherein ace speakers namely Arokiaswamy Velumani, Founder and Chairman of Thyrocare; Ajai Chowdhry, co-founder, HCL Technologies; to others street smart Dabbawalas, Auto Anna – left the delegates spellbound! It did not stop there. Later, in February 2018, BNI Goa organized a three-day Goa Biz Fest which witnessed participation from organizations such as FSAI, GTA, IIIA and many others. During the course of one of the sessions at the fest, Goa’s then Chief Minister, Late Manohar Parrikar, also shared his vision for the future of Goa. Rajkumar recollects how the session had a long lasting impact, but to his dismay, Parrikar, was diagnosed for a life threatening illness, a week later.

Room for Growth
While the 10 year old journey of BNI in Goa has been a super success, there have been a few limitations, here and there. Commenting on the BNI expedition in Goa, Rajkumar says, “So far, the BNI Journey in Goa has been quite exciting. We have completed one cycle of the ‘Start-Grow-Stabilize’ and are on the cusp of the second growth cycle. Considering the disruptions happening all around us, including the pandemic, I believe we need to be agile, responsive and target explosive growth.” The stabilization phase of BNI in Goa, in the past 4 years, has seen their 500+ members generate business of more than 1000 Crores. The goal here is to help more than 1000 entrepreneurs reach an average business of Rs.1 Crore per annum, with regards to business generation through BNI alone.
Rajkumar goes on to elaborate on various actions that are currently being worked upon. These actions include:
a. Use of Technology – BNI Global has been innovating and making thing easier through use of latest technology. BNI has now shifted to online mode for conducting meetings, owing to the Lockdown.
The BNI ‘Business Builder’ app is also in the pipeline and is intended to make a debut this month. This will further make exchange of business referrals among BNI members easier across the globe thereby expanding the potential for ‘Business Beyond Boundaries.’
b. Focus on Startups and Millennials – BNI Goa has, by far, worked primarily on seasoned businesses for membership. However, with the Indian entrepreneurial system going ablaze with more and more ambitious and passionate startups and millennials, they wish to consciously extend their services to this exciting group, as well.
c. Social Contribution – BNI Goa has been working on multiple fronts in terms of social contribution and in the days ahead, they wish to provide extended focus to helping Self Help Groups (SHGs) to market their products. Through this, BNI Goa wishes to go further and execute their mission of ‘Employment Generation Through Entrepreneurial Growth’.

Goa Focus
Considering the fact that BNI in Goa has, so far, had a phenomenal journey and intends to take it to new heights, Rajkumar highlights certain areas of business that according to him, require more focus and harnessing. He says, “Considering the literacy level in Goa, with large number of knowledge workers and the creative culture of Goa, including dance, music, dramatics, among others, I believe, going forward, the State should focus on making Goa a Creative Hub. Of course, all the existing industries should continue to be encouraged, but a special conscious focus needs to be beamed on encouragement to education, entertainment, tech startups and research and development. I strongly believe that these sectors would help in productively utilizing natural passion and aptitude of the Goan youth, thereby helping Goa to flower into a ‘Creative Hub’ based economy.
Finally, speaking of his wish-list for the Government of Goa to encourage the entrepreneurial ecosystem and rope in State support is concerned, Rajkumar says that the State currently needs to prioritize on 3 main aspects of business:
1. ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the real sense. “I believe the Chief Minister has already taken action after 7 months of working on handling the pandemic,” says Rajkumar.
2. Implementing the ‘Vocal for Local’ policy wherein there needs to be a system where the State Government could maximise purchases, contracts and services from professionals, industries, contractors, and vendors from Goa itself. He says, “We do not require any complicated mechanism but a simple system which also ensures that the government does not have to overspend because of this. This can be worked out,” he adds.
3. Focus attention on making Goa a ‘Creative Hub’.
The ten year long journey of BNI in Goa has made a strong impact on the entrepreneurial ecosysytem. From here on, it looks to build on the strengths achieved over the decade

BNI Goa: the performance matrix

The premiere chapter of BNI in Goa, Aparant is the largest chapter, as of end September 2020 with 82 members. The second BNI chapter, BNI Mathgram brought laurels to Goa Region by pole vaulting to 7th position in the All India Chapter Traffic Lights.
The other BNI chapters in Goa – Dynamic, Champions, Elegance, Mandovi, Samudra, Titans, Gateway, Odyssey, Synergy, Tycoons and Coastal Stars, too have been growing in varying degrees.
In addition, despite the Lockdown situation prevailing across the globe this year, BNI Goa members have generated business at a level of a whopping 70% in comparison to the previous year.
BNI Goa has further touched the magnificent figure of 1500 Crores with respect to cumulative business, wherein 1000 Crores out of this figure has been generated over the past four years. The average thus stands at a handsome 50 Lakhs per annum, per member.
Presently, BNI Goa has 568 members from 13 different chapters and is moving at a fast pace towards achievement its goal of reaching 1000+ members by end of 2020. There are new chapters that are being launched in North and South Goa – at Porvorim, Ponda, Sanvordem, Mapusa, besides 2 other unique chapters.
The goal by end of 2021 is to generate a business of Rs.8.5 Lakhs per member, per month. This works out to about One Crore per member, per annum.
BNI Goa envisions a process of growth within its members coupled with new businesses that will create new job opportunities for more than 10000 people in Goa by end of 2022

Vibrant Goa GLOBAL Expo & Summit 2019: Putting Goa on the World’s Map

BNI Goa prides itself to be the nursery that sowed the seed of the Vibrant Goa Expo and Summit 2019, that was thought of by Late Manohar Parrikar and fully supported by the current decisive and dynamic Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant – and later became part of the wider organisation, the Vibrant Goa Foundation.
BNI Goa is indeed proud to have always been in line with their core philosophy, “Givers Gain” which they readily expanded beyond barriers of BNI, with the objective to involve the entire business community from across the State, to the Vibrant Goa Foundation.
Rajkumar wholeheartedly thanks the Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, scientist Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, Shrinivas Dempo, Dr. Jagat Shah, Manoj Caculo, Nitin Kunkolienkar, Anil Counto and various other industry tycoons and professional/trade organizations from Goa and the entire business community – GCCI, GTA, IID, GMA, IIA, IIE, GPMA, TTAG, FSAI, GOA HR Forum, SKAL International Goa, National Institute of Personnel Management; besides the academia headed by Prof. Varun Sahni, Vice Chancellor, Goa University, with whose indefatigable support, the Team was able to bring to fructification, the marquee event that focussed on boosting business in Goa.
Moreover, Rajkumar also expresses his profound gratitude to Graham Weihmiller, Chairman and CEO; Mac Shrinivasan, Global Markets President, besides the entire leadership at BNI at the National as well as State level, who were nothing but compassionate of any requests from their side.
He also believes that the volunteering culture of BNI and Jaycee members and whole hearted support from the Goa Government, played a key role in the successful execution of the event

BNI cares: help in times of crisis

BNI Goa undertook various relief activities including ration packets and cooked meals on daily basis to migrants, workers and the needy; as well as to stray animals – in a bid to support the community during the pandemic lockdown.
BNI Goa Members also provided hand washes and floor cleaners, paper plates, tissues and paper cups to Quarantine Centres at TB Hospital and ESI Hospital, Margao. BNI Goa and Vibrant Goa Foundation also gave 1025 PPE Kits to the Health Department of Goa, for frontline warriors.
Put together, BNI Members were on a mission to do their best to help the needy, especially to those affected worst, during the pandemic lockdown. Their efforts included 1,80,000+ cooked food packets, 7,000+ ration kits, fed stray animals, helped stranded people, reached out to people who needed assistance, besides the PPE Kits.
Every Chapter has been contributing on its own to different community causes which have reached out to them for support.
“Going forward, we at BNI propose to engage with the Self Help Groups & Individual Service Providers and help them markets their products and services,” says Rajkumar as he speaks about the ‘BNI Cares’ initiative