The Emergence of the Abundant Economy.
In continuation to the previous post on the current scenario, the era of abundant choice. . .
As students of school-level economics will testify, we have always accepted as a given that the “resources are scarce and needs are unlimited.” We are, today, witnessing the emergence of abundance.
A survey testifies to this: “the fast changing consumerism in India over the last two decades has made life ever more puzzling for marketers, analysts and policy makers who have been trying to understand the changing dynamics of the Indian marketplace. Gone are the days when Indian consumers could have been neatly slotted into different categories, since consumers and consumerism have turned into a more complex proposition looking for more value and satisfaction for their money.” (How India Earns, Spends and Saves.)
The survey report goes on to state: “The wheel of fortune continues to spin in India, with each level of household income set to move a notch higher by the end of the decade. The maximum impact of the growth has been estimated to be on the middle-income households.”
A McKinsey report in 2007 was more bullish in their projections: “Our analysis shows that if India continues on its current growth path, over the next two decades the Indian market will almost triple and India will climb from its position as the 12th largest consumer market to become the world’s fifth-largest consumer market by 2025.” (The ‘Bird of Gold’: The Rise of India’s Consumer Market published after a year-long research project.)
Quite frankly, I don’t really understand country-level statistics. For me, these statistics are a mere confirmation of the entrepreneurial energy I have seen in the many business shows that we, at Franchise India, have organised across the country. Last year, we did some 50-plus shows. These were not just in the metros, but also in the tier II and III cities and towns.
My marketing communication colleagues say that we bind India from Jammu to Cochin, (North-South) and from Pathankot to Dibrugarh, (East-West). These are shows where individual investors, early entrepreneurs and established enterprises come together to buy and sell business opportunities in franchise and retail. We have been doing this for 14 years now and each year we are not only revisiting old destinations, but are going to new ones. The show at each repeat destination has been bigger than the previous one.
I am not saying this in a self-congratulatory mode. We have done nothing except tapping into an overflow of entrepreneurial spirit that is welling up within the belly of our nation. Entrepreneurs are just waiting for opportunities. I am an optimist in that I know that the change for the better has happened and will happen faster. The change rests on the shoulders of the new entrepreneurs I daily meet; who keep coming forward to take on more challenges and build new businesses. It is this community of entrepreneurs that will build enterprise solutions to all the pain points we continue to face today, in India and across the globe.
We shall continue with more on the abundance economy, its problems and the ways to tackle those in our forthcoming articles. Write in to us for your feedback and opinions.
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