A recent report says Bangalore is among the best places in the world to do business, in the same league as London, Shanghai and Singapore. So what makes the city tick on this count?
LACK of infrastructure is the cause of much irritation here, but when it comes to talent, location and climate, Bangalore scores, say business heads.
Talent pool
Vice-president and business head in an apparel company Alok Dubey believes it’s the sheer volume and quality of younger people living here that puts Bangalore among the best destinations for business. “The younger population here has one of the best profiles. With several of them coming from outside the city, they display consumption patterns that are independent and individualistic,” he says.
Entrepreneur and former MD of an IT company Romi Malhotra adds that even when it comes to senior talent, Bangalore has the potential to attract people. Although Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad come close, when we actually go out to recruit, we find the willingness of senior talent to come to Bangalore is high,” he says.
And one doesn’t even need to start afresh when it comes to looking for them, says Ujjal Gangopadhyay, GM, human resources, in an international aircraft cargo company. “When you go out into the market, you find that people in Bangalore are already on a particular wavelength and are conversant with their work. We have the required education and professional expertise here,” he says.
Cool weather
Talent apart, Bangalore has climatic and locational advantage. Nikhil Sen, managing director of a biscuit manufacturing company headquartered in Australia, says, “We chose to do business in Bangalore because of the availability of labour, good climate and its proximity to the Chennai port. Also, the south of India has a much richer market when compared to other regions in the country.”
“Over the last few years, Bangalore has developed as a true cosmopolitan centre and a lot of companies are already here, which changes the DNA of the city to make it global,” adds Romi.
Plenty of space
The demand for office spaces proves that Bangalore is in constant expansion mode as far as business is concerned. P Shayamaraju, CMD of a property development company, says, “We ourselves have developed almost three million square feet of office spaces so far. Overall, the city has at least 100 million square feet of office spaces,” he says.
One downer
With so much going for Bangalore, lack of infrastructure facilities is definitely a downer. “We have power and water problems and the infrastructure simply hasn’t kept pace with development,” says Nikhil. “Everything — from airports and roads, to connectivity and availability of affordable housing for people who come here — is a problem,” adds Romi.
City tops because...
It has a very committed workforce.
There’s good value for money, both for the employer and the employee.
As a consequence of the explosion in the business environment in the last decade, the opportunity to do business in Bangalore has improved. For example, in the health care sector you need an atmosphere to have a patient population, an insurance sector, people who can provide hospital equipment and building capability, all of which are available in an efficient atmosphere in Bangalore.
Communication is good and English is spoken better here than in other Indian cities.
Over the years, the work culture for the Bangalorean has changed from laid-back to proactive.
Dr Nandakumar Jairam, chairman of a super-speciality hospital
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