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A Diverse, Vibrant Community
SIPA’s core activity is a series of monthly business-focused programs, plus a large annual event.
Programs cover a combination of tech issues with an India emphasis, such as virtualization and
enterprise computing; the geo-spatial web; challenges for Indian software companies going global;
and entrepreneurial topics such as business ethics, financial strategies and personal branding.
Indian Business & Professional Women (IBPW), based in Fremont, was established
in 1988 as a support network and discussion forum for South Asian women professionals.
Originally an informal group called Indian Women in Business, it incorporated
as a non-profit in 1997 and held its first annual “Inspire…Aspire…Achieve” conference,
attracting 200 attendees.
IBPW hosts career development, personal finance, health and other seminars, as well as networking
mixers. A resident mentor program, run by former HP Labs research director Neerja
Raman, offers coaching on career strategy, interpersonal communications, leadership and other
issues. IBPW advisors include: former SupportSoft chief executive officer Radha Basu, who developed
Hewlett-Packard’s Bangalore software center in the mid-1980s; Lata Krishnan, president
of the American India Foundation and chief financial officer of the $300 million Shah Capital
Partners mid-cap technology private equity fund; and Talat Hasan, founder of two Valley semiconductor
instrument startups, Prometrix and Sensys Instruments, and a guiding force behind
the Indian Community Center in Milpitas.
The South Asian Bar Association of Northern California (SABA) began in 1993 as
the Indo-American Bar Association, when attorney Mukesh Advani cold-called lawyers
with Indian surnames from a legal directory and invited them to a meeting. The name
change in 1999 was intended to broaden the membership by reaching out to all South Asian
attorneys. Today SABA has some 450 members, and welcomes all lawyers and law students.
Membership in SABA is diverse, from immigration and employment attorneys to in-house and
outside corporate intellectual property (IP) counsel. Events are a combination of social mixers
and continuing legal education seminars. SABA also offers a mentorship program and pro bono
legal services, and maintains a hate crimes hotline. It established a foundation in 1999 to award a
$1,500 annual fellowship to a deserving law student.
The San Francisco-based Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP), launched in 1995,
caters to a younger membership and balances professional and cultural development and
community service. NetIP holds monthly business card exchange mixers, guest career
events with speakers from various industries, sector-specific events, social outings, an annual banquet,
and a charitable foundation that, over 2004–05, donated more than $68,000 for tsunami and
Pakistan earthquake relief, hate crime victims in Northern California and Hurricane Katrina relief.
The Global India Venture Capital Association (GIVCA)—formerly the U.S.-India
Venture Capital Association—promotes global cross-border investments with India by
providing a forum for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs to network and collaborate.
Directed by Bakul Joshi, GIVCA has a membership that includes leading venture firms and
affiliates such as banks, law firms, and accounting firms, with a focus on India investment.
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