Source: www.csmonitor.com
NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 14, 2010: Nathan Sigworth still remembers the trepidation that accompanied his move to India. A college grad with an eye for business, he wasn’t concerned about unfamiliar turf or overcrowded cities. More worrisome was the competition he’d face from Indian peers with a reputation for math smarts and hard-driving ambition.
But three years later, the company he launched here, PharmaSecure, to help consumers detect counterfeit medicine has just inked deals with Indian drugmakers to use his service on 50 million packages of pills a year. While Indians have long headed to the United States to boost their fortunes, Mr. Sigworth sees India as a land of opportunity where Americans can bring much-needed skills to the table.
“When I first moved to India I thought, ‘Gosh, here I am surrounded by people who are doing algebra in elementary school…. [With] all these smart people, how can I even compete?’ ” says Sigworth. What he discovered, he says, is that American education and American cultural heritage “prepare us so well for working in the world, for being pioneers.”
“Many American companies still don’t think of India as a serious market. When I tell people that India has a trillion-dollar economy, many are shocked,” says Gunjan Bagla, principal of Amritt Ventures, a California company that advises companies on how to do business in India. “I’m hopeful that Obama’s visit will change that.”