1. NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
Introduction to doing business in India
By
Yogesh Kale
Director – 4Nature Oy
Moderator – Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange ( NTTE )
2. 4N – Company business Case
• 4Nature OY Ltd manufactures and supplies Eco-
Friendly Smart building material & solutions, with
special focus on infrastructure capacity building in
emerging economies.
• 4Nature has business activities in India, Nepal,
Central & West Africa, Russia and Finland.
• NTTE – facilitates trade & technology exchange in
addition to International Business Development for
NORDIC companies looking for expansion in India &
parts of Africa
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
3. Doing business in India
• 4Nature Oy - India experience – since June 2012
• Projects implementation in Bihar (a north eastern
state) Maharashtra (western state) & New Delhi
(national capital region)
• Current Projects in Konkan region ( close to Mumbai
& Goa)
• NTTE – in existence as an informal advisory since
2010 – has been formalised as a company very
recently.
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
4. India - Culture & Diversity
• India is a vast country & cultural diversity is
enormous
• 325 Spoken Languages
• 1652 dialects
• 18 Official Languages
• 29 states & 7 Union territories
• Population 1,3 billion
• Literacy : 66 %
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
5. India - Business
• Indian businessmen in general are sensitive & watchful of
smallest of gestures
• Sell yourself before you sell your product or an Idea
• Hospitality is common practice.
• Feelings & relationships are important (for decision making) so
it’s a good investment to build trust
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
6. India Business
Culture
• Indian businessmen in general are sensitive & watchful of
smallest of gestures
• Sell yourself before you sell your product or an Idea
• Hospitality is common practice.
• Feelings & relationships are important (for decision making) so
it’s a good investment to build trust
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
7. • Do
India Business
Culture
not
underes+mate
Indians
or
India
in
any
way
• ‘My
way
or
the
highway’
a7tude
will
halt
your
journey
before
it
begins
• Disturbances
&
distrac+ons
during
a
business
meet
is
common,
does
not
mean
lack
of
interest.
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
8. • New
India Business
Culture
Ideas
must
be
accompanied
with
endorsements
&
history
of
success,
that
could
be
verified
• First
+me
Ideas
(never
implemented
before)
are
usually
a
challenge
to
implement
• Disagreements
are
not
aired
openly
&
directly
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
9. • Bargaining
India Business
Culture
for
price
or
concessions
is
very
common,
do
not
take
it
personally.
Always
keep
a
price
buffer
• Flexibility
in
nego+a+ons
is
expected
• Straight
forward
offers
are
not
always
a
good
idea
• Avoid
insis+ng
on
commitments
and
decisions
in
your
first
mee+ng
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
10. Some Significant Aspects
• India is a Heterogeneous Society, therefore differences due to
region, religon, language & cast can vastly change the
etiquettes, behavior & approach of people.
• HIERARCHY in business environment
• Respect for age & experience
• Women doing business in India will receive lot of respect &
courtesies however has to SOMETIMES put in extra effort to
close deals.
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
11. 4N India experience – what helped us
• Building relationships with Dignity & self respect
• Establishing trust ( Not going to run away)
• BE CAREFUL – and always be on the right side of the law
• Right business partner.
• Not succumb to paying bribes, there are ethical ways too.
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
12. Concluding words
• There is no specific formula for success in Indian Business
Environment - Having a right partner can certainly change
your fortunes.
• Appreciate Price sensitivity & make that a part of your strategy
• Seeing is believing – foes for products & People.
NTTE
Nordic Trade & Technology Exchange
