“Right to Win” by Mr Harsh Mariwala, Chairman – Marico Ltd & Past President, FICCI

FLO organised an interactive session on “The Right to Win with Shri Harsh Mariwala, Chairman – Marico Ltd & Past President, FICCI. He is also Chairman & Managing Director of Kaya Limited.

Mr. Mariwala’s passion for innovation, enthused him to establish the Marico Innovation Foundation in 2003 which works towards nurturing innovations in India. In 2012, Mr. Mariwala started ASCENT Foundation, a peer-learning entrepreneurial platform.

Innovation, marketing and strong distribution network are key to success for Fast Moving Consumer (FMCG) products. In a product like the Parachute, Marico constantly innovated in its packaging, Saffola was a pioneer in healthy edible oil.

“It is difficult to create a culture of innovation in businesses and it is the leadership to ensure that people in the organisation experiment and take risks and remove the fear of failure. Constant innovation and creating a culture that encourages new ideas are key to building a successful business” said Mr Mr Harsh Mariwala.

“I realised the importance of innovation 20 years back, When I look back at our brands, they all have something different which has succeeded in the market.. So, if you want to succeed in the marketplace you have to innovate, not just to launch a product but also on a perpetual basis, because it is a matter of time others will start copying you,” said Mr Mariwala.

“In a product like the Parachute, Marico constantly innovated in its packaging, Saffola was a pioneer in healthy edible oil and so on. My belief in innovation is very high and that’s why we started the Marico Innovation Foundation. I think, if India has to succeed, innovation has to play a very important role,” he said.

“However, it is difficult to create a culture of innovation in businesses and it is the leadership to ensure that people in the organisation experiment and take risks and remove the fear of failure.

“FLO with 19 Chapters and 8000 members across India represents women entrepreneurs and professionals through our mandate of empowering them and equipping them with skills and capacities to become equal contributors to the Indian economy,” said Ms Sudha Shivkumar, Senior Vice President, FLO. “Under the start-up initiative FLO is providing complete support from Ideation, incubation, mentoring, acceleration and finally investments,” she added.

Minal Jain, Governing Body Member, FLO was the Day Chair.