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© 2016 by Sivaleen Inc. All rights reserved
UK Karnataka Business Meet 2016
POST MEET REPORT
Thursday, 24th November, 2016
UK Parliament, Westminster, London, UK

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© 2016 by Sivaleen Inc. All rights reserved
British South India Council of Commerce, with Sivaleen Inc as the delivery partner, successfully
organised UK Karnataka Business Meet 2016 on 24th November 2016 at UK Parliament,
Westminster, London so as to showcase business opportunities between UK and Karnataka, a state in
the South of India. UK Karnataka Business Meet 2016 was the 16th meet of BSICC 'Business Meet'
series, which have been held at British Parliament, London over the last few years and these business
meets have so far engaged around 2350 delegates as part of BSICC's mission to promote trade and
investment between the UK and India, specifically South India . The Business Meet was chaired by
British Member of Parliament and Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group Chairman Hon Mr
Virendra Sharma MP, who is the Patron of British South India Council of Commerce. The other
British MPs who participated in the business meet include Hon Martyn Day MP, Hon Stephen Timms
MP and Hon Rishi Sunak MP, the only British MP with links to Karnataka. The meet attracted
participation from about 100 companies from the UK and Karnataka and from the feedback we have
received, the program was a great success as the business meet was able to establish an understanding
of major business challenges and opportunities in the UK and Karnataka. The business meet also
achieved the objective of promoting the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experiences among current
and future business and political leaders from both the regions. A total of 17 speakers shared their
expertise during the 4 hour business meet, which had about 100 delegates who had registered to attend
the event
During the business meet, UK Karnataka Business Chamber (UKKBC), which is part of the wider
network of British South India Council of Commerce, was launched so as to promote trade and
investment between Karnataka and the UK, and to provide a platform for companies and businessmen
who wish to become part of Karnataka - U.K trade community. The Brochure of UK Karnataka
Business Chamber was launched by BSICC Patron Hon Mr Virendra Sharma MP and Hon Rishi
Sunak MP alongside UKKABC Chairman Mr.Manjunath Viswhakarma and BSICC Directors
Mr.Philip Abraham and Mr.Sujit Nair.,FRSA
THE MEET
PROGRAMME SUMMARY
Mr.Virendra Sharma MP, the Patron of British
South India Council of Commerce, welcomed the
delegates attending the business meet. BSICC Co
Founder & Chief Co Ordinator Mr Sujit Nair hosted
the meet.
The first talk of the business meet was by
Hon Mr.Rishi Sunak, MP who is the only current
British MP with links to Karnataka. Mr.Sunak
provided a brief overview of UK India relations and
spoke in detail about his relationship with Karnataka
and the advantages of doing business in the state.
This talk was followed by a panel discussion about 'Starting up / Scaling up in Karnataka (India)'
which provided insights into how international companies / global entrepreneurs have been able to

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© 2016 by Sivaleen Inc. All rights reserved
participating in the summit, were small businesses and
one of the challenges faced by majority of smaller
businesses is access to finance. For the benefits of these
businesses, the next talk was by Mr.Antanu Das,
Managing Director - Punjab National Bank
( International ) Limited who shared his expertise and
knowledge about the financing options that are available
for small businesses in the UK.
The next panel discussion titled 'Advantage Karnataka'
focused on the advantages and business opportunities
which Karnataka provides for companies who are
interested to pursue business activity in the state.
Mr.Prabhakar Gowribidanur, Media personality /
Television Anchor/ Creative Head - Vaibhav creations
moderated the discussion. The other panellists included
Mr Asif Iqbal, Director - Diplomatic Consular Corps of
Karnataka; Mr.Manjunath Karma, Chairman - Aaditya
Karma Group; Mrs.Vinoda Prabhakar - Advocate,
Karnataka and Mr.Prashanth Raj - Film Director,
Karnataka
start up and scale up their business in Karnataka. The
panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Chris
Wiseman, Corporate Development Manager TWI UK
Ltd (Moderator) and comprised of Mr.Laurence
Croneen, Co Founder - Deeper Blue Ltd; Mr.Hendrik
Van Dord, Vice President - India Economic Trade
Organisation and Mrs.Pallavi Sundareshan, Co
Founder - Taxbell/ Pallavi Audio.
The larger number of businesses which BSICC has
engaged over the years, including the ones who were
The next panel discussion titled 'Starting up in the
UK for Migrant Entrepreneurs' focused on
opportunities & challenges when entrepreneurs from
another part of the world try to set up their business in
the UK. The panel discussion was moderated by
Mr.Kosta Mavroulakis, Founder & CEO - Empact
Ventures/ Campaign Manager- StartUp Britain. The
panellists included Mr.Rafael dos Santos , Founder
& CEO - Mi - Hub; Mr.Mohan Panguluri, Director -
Qapitol QA; Mr.Olly Whittle, Founder - Budipay
and Mr.Chandra Mouly, Sales Director, Itti.com
The vote of thanks was delivered by Mr.Sadanand Nayak , Executive Director - Punjab National
Bank (International) Ltd / Member - BSICC Advisory Board

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© 2016 by Sivaleen Inc. All rights reserved
Important Disclaimer:
Important please note: This report is for guidance only and has been prepared in good faith to
give a fair overall view of the meet and is believed to be correct at the date of publication.
Copyright
All content in this document, including logos, text, images, graphics etc are protected by
copyright and/or design right owned by Sivaleen Inc unless identified as belonging to third
parties. The business meets of British South India Council of Commerce Ltd is initiated,
implemented and executed by Sivaleen Inc , which also represents BSICC in India
Tapping into our network and expertise built over the years, British South India Council
of Commerce also offers consultancy services to those companies who are looking to start,
scale up or expand into the UK and Indian markets