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with,” explains Shah.
“From the time I’ve been
going there in the last 10
years, the country has really,
really changed.”
Her initial, fleeting experience
of India occurred
around20yearsagoasa
transit passenger in what
was then Bombay (Mumbai).
“The first impression
in the airport wasn’t inviting.
I never came out of the
terminal building. So my
first time really was when
I was invited to a wedding
10 years ago and when I
did go I couldn’t believe the
change that had occurred
there already.
‘It’s inevitable that
India will become
increasingly
important. It’s
going to be the
same way as China
has been coming
up. In maybe 10, 15
years’ time it will
just boom’
“Now, in the last four years, it’s transformed totally. Even from
my own relations who are there, I can see such a huge challenge
and such a huge change.
“It’s a land of opportunity,” she continues. “It’s very progressive
and democratic. The growth rate is about 8.5pc and the
middle class has really moved up. Everybody now has a comfort
zone, whereas 10 years ago the poor were very poor and the middle
class was poor as well. Plus, the language is not a barrier –
they’re very, very good at English.”
Shah is says she is very proud of the way India has progressed
in recent years. “It is a resilient economy. It has gone through
global recession but it is definitely in the top 10 or even better as
an investment.
“I just couldn’t believe it the last time I went there, although
it was the first time I went to Delhi. If you go into certain areas
there, it’s all designer, which you would never have seen before.
I really admire it, I have to say. I feel proud and absolutely delighted.”
Her own company, which is involved in recycling and the manufacture
of a wide range of plastics products, exports to a range
of countries worldwide, including India, which Shah believes is
an increasingly vital market. “We have to look at India because
it is growing at such an astronomical pace,” she says.
“It’s inevitable that India will become increasingly important.
It’s going to be same way as China has been coming up. In maybe
10, 15 years’ time, it will just boom.”
TRADE MISSION
In April, Shah was part of a delegation of 22 Irish companies
that travelled to New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad on an Enterprise
Ireland trade and education mission. As part of that operation,
Minster for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard
Bruton TD, led groups of Irish companies in key corporate presentations
to promote their products and services to potential
Indian partners and buyers.
“As I was already doing business there it was easier to showcase,”
says Shah. “I wanted to have an insight into Delhi, which
is a hub for India, and then I met the companies I would be doing
business with along with a few companies in Mumbai. I was trying
to investigate the opportunities there and the opportunities
are magnifying.”
She’s hugely impressed by the level of entrepreneurship in
India. “You just have express a thought or an idea, and the next
thing is, they’re relating India to the business and the opportunities.
They’re very entrepreneurial and they take it very seriously.”
Shah believes she will get business as a result of being on the
trade mission. “There’s a great sea of opportunities there and I
would definitely endorse it.”
The main problems around doing business are also discussed
at the top level during these missions, she explains. “This is very
important because the two parties can discuss the relevant
problems. It’s people like me and other people who go who can
say, see why it’s feasible, why it’s not feasible and they can bring
it to the table.
“It’s also PR, particularly for Ireland, to go out with this image
and say look, we’re open for business and we’re quite serious
about doing business.”
78 INNOVATION IRELAND REVIEW Issue 2 Spring/Summer 2011