The Year of Young Entrepreneurs

1st AGM of WZCC-I

by Homi R. Mullan

The First Annual General Meeting (AGM) of World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce
– India (WZCC-I), held on Sunday of September 12, 2004 at West End Hotel, Mumbai,
radiated energetic messages from the Directors and the Members, equally useful for the
Young as well as Established Entrepreneurs, Businessmen and Professionals. We would
like to share these happenings with the Enterprising Zoroastrian community, nationwide
and worldwide. The current year has been announced as ‘The Year of Young
Entrepreneurs’, whereupon the activities of WZCC-I will be focused.

Minoo Shroff, President, WZCC-I, in his Keynote address, had a lot to give and share,
from his continuous communication and interaction with the Corporate World, with the
Big Zoroastrian Business houses, and with the Young Zoroastrian Entrepreneurs in India
and abroad. How Mentoring helps a young entrepreneur and how satisfying it is to the
Mentor, and to maintain this relationship over decades. He expressed that the progress of
WZCC-I was gratifying, considering that eight months were intensely spent in the set-up
activity and establishing communication after the twin launch of the New Delhi Chapter,
followed within a week by Mumbai Chapter. After establishing Chapters at Pune,
followed by Ahmedabad, it was encouraging that the New Targeted Chapters were
Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. Dubai Zoroastrians who ventured there forty years
ago, gave their Heart, Funds and Support to the Maiden Export Trade Delegation, from
India to Dubai, which was well planned and organized by Meher Kersi Bhesania (Dubai)
and Edil Katrak (Mumbai) who led the inspired team which was well disciplined,
resulting in very high strike rate in business deals including signing of a venture. Minoo
Shroff, on narrating the examples of Zoroastrian Entrepreneurs of London, sited the
example of Karan Billimoria, OBE, 43 years of age, who was determined to be an
entrepreneur and to succeed in England, and who performed the feat of ‘carrying coals to
Newcastle’ by establishing a business in Beer & Wine, and had the audacity to brand
these as ‘Cobra Beer’ and ‘General Billimoria Wine’ (dedicated to his father). He has
experienced great success. Another Z-Entrepreneur success story from London narrated
by Minoo Shroff was that of ‘Café Spice Namaste’ which caters to Parsi Foods & Parsi
condiments, books on cookery and the like, started by enterprising Cyrus Dotiwala, who
started as a Trainee Chef at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai, had an incubation period of 15
years in India, had set his eye to succeed in London. Even with the patronage of the
Australian Prime Minister and having a lucrative job as a Chef in Australia, Cyrus
returned to India to try entry into England. After being rejected for a UK Visa he went on
to achieve the honour of OBE and was offered British Citizenship; and, the British
Government gave Cyrus £1 million to put up a Catering Institute for Ethnic Society. The
tenacity displayed by Cyrus (who wore his Chef’s Cap at a function so as not to forget his
profession) is a good example for Z-entrepreneurs. Minoo Shroff said that the
Entrepreneurial Bug is coming to India, stating the example of Jehan Bhujwala, a
dynamic young entrepreneur with a genuine love for wild life has created ‘Shergarh
Teneted Camp’ an Adventure Tourism business at the Kanha National Park, Tehsil
Baiher, District Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh. An entrepreneur, Bhujwala was willing to
help himself by putting forth his own 50% contribution and the BPP’s Venture Capital
scheme (Zoroastrian Investment Corporation Limited) helped him with advisory services
and the balance 50%. Minoo Shroff concluded by asking members to look into the future
with great optimism and plunge into the ‘deep end’ of the swimming pool.

OVERSEAS: A message paying tributes to WZCCI by Rohinton Rivetna, President of the

parent WZCC body, was read out. Rohinton said that WZCC’s progress in India was
simply astonishing, and expressed that ‘staying away from Mumbai, we find being a
Parsi is a real advantage’. Dadi Mistry added that in North India ‘Parsis are trusted for
their Jabani, Standards and Morality’. Kersi Limathwlla expressed that the relentless and
voluntary efforts made by Yazdi Tantra, Secretary Mumbai Chapter, to get the WZCC
world network on to a common platform (website www.wzcc.net) has made WZCC-I
proud and Yazdi Tantra has been appointed as Technical Director on the World Board of
WZCC, managing the WZCC website.

FINANCE & MEMBERSHIP OVERVIEW: The first year’s accounts showed a surplus, which
came as support from members and Chapters’ contribution from their fees to the
Chamber. A new Director on the Chamber’s Board is Mrs. Anu Aga. All Chapter
Chairpersons automatically become Directors of the Chamber. The newly formalised and
elected Board of Directors will serve a three-year term. Following Jamshedji Guzdar with
his commitment of Rs.2 Lacs as Patron-in-Chief, other Patrons Burjor H. Antia and
Minoo R. Shroff with each contributing Rs.0.5 Lac have joined the list of Patrons. Many
members have started converting their Annual Membership to Life Membership (of 15
years tenure). With current Membership strength of 355, members were urged to convert
to Life Membership and to introduce more Members to WZCC-I.

BUSINESS: How an old and established business has benefited through WZCC activity,
was narrated by Urvax Hoyvoy, who said that WZCC-I helped to rejuvenate contacts in
Dubai. To this, Minoo Shroff added the importance to ‘re-invent’ your self. Someone is
running faster than you, so to ensure and secure your future, you must run faster.
Reference was made to a document on Corporate Governance authored by our Delhi-
based member Fali Nariman. Corporate Governance is to be for all Businesses and in any
walk of life; small businesses must govern themselves as large businesses do, was
expressed and emphasised by Kersi Limathwalla. On the question of what incentives the
WZCC would offer, Minoo Shroff quoted the U. K. entrepreneurs who expressed that
‘leave us alone’ was the greatest and the only incentive they look forward to. The need to
break the inertia from the professional paradigm was expressed by Adi Engineer, Pune
Chapter Chair.

CORPORATE QUIZ: A spellbound performance resulted out of a well researched question

bank by Kersi Commissariat, equally complemented by Zarine Commissariat anchoring
the Quiz session, and the audience in house full capacity responding splendidly. A tribute
of sheer guts was paid to the members of the participating four teams: Khushru Gotla
(Indenting Agent) + Godrej Dotivala (Distinguished PRO of BPP); Vispi Mistry
(Computer Data Processing business) + Aspi Acharya (Edible Oil Business); Farrokh
Rustomji (Corporate Chief Executive) + Ruby Rustomji (a couple team); and Adi
Engineer (Corporate Consultant, Pune Chapter Chair) & Kerman Kasad (H.O.D.
Corporate Communications, Pune Chapter Secretary). The fifth participation was from
the audience. Many questions related to J R D Tata and the house of Godrej. One of the
most intriguing questions was : with whom the joint venture was formed for starting
TITAN watch industry, and the answer was Tamil Nadu Industrial Corporation; but later,
on discussing the same, we came to learn that TITAN was coined from Tata Industries
(TI) and Tamil Nadu (TAN). Another intriguing question was : in the field of retailing
business, what is ‘Five-finger Discounting?’, which was amusingly announced, by
juggling the five-fingers, as ‘Shop Lifting’. Whilst the first prize went to the Pune team
(Adi Engineer & Kerman Kasad), the first prize amongst the audience went to Adil Irani,
our ‘Aloe Vera’ man, who livens up the spirit at all our gatherings.

To continue from here on, for the whole year around, visit the WZCC Worldwide website
www.wzcc.net and explore your world of opportunities, and interact internationally.