500 MSME Entrepreneurs attend the ASCENT Summit focused on harnessing the 'Power of Collective'

ASCENT has over 950 member entrepreneurs from diverse regions and industries representing a cumulative turnover of more than Rs. 85,000 crores+.

MUMBAI, India, Oct. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ASCENT Foundation, a not-for-profit, peer-to-peer entrepreneurial learning platform founded by Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico Ltd., hosted the maiden edition of its annual flagship event 'ASCENT Summit 2023' at Sahara Star Mumbai on 13^th October, Friday. Themed around 'Power of Collective', the summit witnessed a monumental gathering of over 500 influential MSME founders, change-makers, and experts in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. At present,  ASCENT has over 950 member entrepreneurs from diverse regions and industries representing a cumulative turnover of more than Rs. 85,000 crores+.

Speaking at the Summit, Harsh Mariwala Chairman Marico Ltd. said, "ASCENT was started with a belief that entrepreneurs can add a lot of value to the economic growth of the country. If we want to achieve our $5 trillion economy goal, it can only happen with entrepreneurship. The target is to touch 5000 entrepreneurs in India in the next five years."

Manglesh Yadav, CEO ASCENT Foundation added, "The objective of ASCENT is to create an ecosystem of like-minded entrepreneurs and create an impact in their leadership journey. With over 950 members, we're now looking to expand our footprint in Delhi."

The first edition of the summit witnessed several sessions offering a power-packed line-up of industry veterans who shared their valuable thoughts and experiences with the entrepreneurs starting with a chat between Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico Ltd. and Founder,  ASCENT Foundation & Priyanjali Mariwala, Lead Director, ASCENT and Director, AquaCentric discussed the powerful impact of a peer support group like ASCENT has created and continues to create in the lives of the entrepreneurs.

Further Saugata Gupta, MD and CEO, Marico Ltd. and Sahil Barua, CEO, Delhivery delved into a discussion on the nuances of navigating the digital frontier. The Summit then proceeded to an insightful chat between Rishabh Mariwala, Managing Partner, Sharrp Ventures & Kanwaljit Singh, Founder & Managing Partner, Fireside Ventures on trends and investments shaping India's consumer landscape. The keynote session was delivered by Bhaskar Bhat, Director, Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. shared his leadership learnings from his journey at Titan.

About ASCENT

ASCENT Foundation started by Harsh Mariwala (Chairman, Marico Ltd.) is a not-for-profit expression of his passion to identify and enable high-potential growth-stage entrepreneurs in their journey to grow both as Entrepreneurs and their Enterprises. ASCENT creates a close-knit Trust Group of non-competing entrepreneurs who believe in Learning from Doers. Designed as a peer-to-peer platform, ASCENT leverages the 'power of the collective' and enables entrepreneurs to share experiences, ideas, and insights to learn from each other through self-facilitated Trust Groups and an extended network of Enablers. In the last decade, ASCENT has selected over 950 entrepreneurs as members PAN India (from more than 3000+ applications received) who are part of 78 operational Trust Groups in Mumbai, Chennai, and All India Chapters. The composition of these members is quite diverse with a 44:56 split between Manufacturing and Services Industries; 44% Family Businesses; 7% Women Entrepreneurs and in all about 65+ diverse industries represented. The aggregate annual turnover of the ASCENT members is more than Rs. 85,000 crores with individual member turnover ranging from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 3900+ crores. For more details, visit https://ascentfoundation.in/