Under the leadership of Shri. Atul Shirodkar, President, MEDC, MEDC organized the MEDC – MSME Conference 2024 held on 23rd August 2024 at Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, Churchgate, Mumbai.
Conference achieved huge success with footfall of 400+, 22 supporters, & 34 Esteemed Speakers.
The conference was inaugurated by the Guest of Honour, Shri. Anand Ganu, Founder- President, Garje Marathi Global. In his speech, he shared insights on the work of Garje Marathi Global, detailing how the organization has significantly contributed to Maharashtra’s economy by fostering entrepreneurship and innovation.
In welcome address, Shri. Atul Shirodkar extended a warm welcome to all the esteemed guests and participants. He emphasized the pivotal role that MEDC plays in fostering economic growth and development in Maharashtra.
Keynote Speaker, Dr. Rajanish Kamat, Vice Chancellor of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University; underscored the importance of MSMEs and skill development, stating that India, as a nation of young minds, must harness this talent to drive progress.
Keynote Speaker, Shri. Rajinder Singh Bhatia, President, the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers and Chairman of Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited; spoke about the remarkable growth of India’s defense sector, attributing the increase in defense exports to the contributions of startups.
Keynote Speaker, Dr. Apoorva Palkar, Founding Vice Chancellor of Maharashtra State Skills University; focused on the importance of human capital formation, emphasizing the pivotal role of job creation within the MSME sector.
Honoured guests Shri. Lalit Gandhi, President, Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (MACCIA); Shri. Vijay Kalantri, President, All India Association of Industries; Mr. Gustavo Gonzalez, Consul General of Chile; Mr. Martin Müller, Consul General of Switzerland were present at the conference.
Shri. Ravindra Boratkar, Immediate Past President, MEDC; concluded the inaugural session with a vote of thanks, expressing his gratitude to all the dignitaries and participants for their efforts in making the conference a success.
There were four technical sessions, includes the moderatos and speakers mentioned below:
The first technical session was on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Incubation & Skill Development, moderated by Shri. Jaideep Pawar, MEDC State Committee Chairman and the speakers were Ms. Nidhi Choudhari, IAS, Former Commissioner, Skills, Employment,
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department & Former CEO, Maharashtra State Skill Development Society (MSSDS) & Maharashtra State Innovation Society (MSINS); Mr. Prasad Menon, CEO, Centre for Incubation and Business Acceleration (CIBA); Mr. Dheeraj Kumar, Regional Head, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC); Mr. Bhavesh Kothari, Chief Executive Officer, MSSU I-Spark Foundation.
The second technical session was on Finance Opportunities for MSMEs, moderated by Capt. Gajanan Karanjikar, MEDC State Committee Chairman and the speakers were Mr. Rajendra Nimbalkar, IAS, Managing Director, Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation Ltd. (MSSIDC); Mr. Sunil Khujnare, IEDS, Assistant Director-I, MSME-DFO Ministry of MSME, GoI; Mr. Kailashkumar Varodia, CFO & COO, Receivables Exchange of India Ltd. (RXIL); Ms. Radha Kirthivasan, Head-Listing & SME, Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE); Mr. Manoj Kumar, Zonal General Manager, National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC).
Third technical session was on Defence Opportunities for MSMEs, moderated by Shri. Mandar Bharde, MEDC State Committee Chairman and the speakers were Group Captain Ajay D Purandare (retd), Head Centre for Futuristic Defence Studies (CFDS); Mr. Anil Kulkarni, Vice President & Head Supply Chain Management, L & T Precision Engineering & Systems; Mr. Rajendra Chodankar, Chairman and CEO, RRP S4E Innovation Pvt Ltd; Dr. Arjun Kumar, Additional Director/Scientist ‘F’, Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) HQ.
Fourth technical session was on Export Opportunities for MSMEs, moderated by Shri. Jiss Mathew, MEDC State Committee Chairman and the speakers were Mr. Seungchang Ha, Chief Representative of Chungcheongnam-do Job and Economic Promotion Agency (CEPA India); Ms. Harpreet Makol, Assistant Director – Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), WR; Mr. Kumar Anshuman, DGM, Nariman Point Branch, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Limited (ECGC); Mr. Govind Ramchandra Pitre, CEO and Principal Consultant, Shashwati Consultancy Services; Mr. Abhishek Lath, Managing Director and CFO, Le Merite Exports Limited.
The concluding remarks were given by Shri. Ashish Garde, Vice President, MEDC.
