The Bi-Monthly Members Meeting of Kanara Entrepreneurs was held on Friday, 10th December 2021 at Hotel Grand Magarath. Mr. Sharath Mascarenhas the Master of Ceremonies welcomed the gathering & called upon Pramod D’souza- Director Membership, to give a brief introduction of the Business Plan Contest after which, the meeting commenced with the final round of presentation by the 5 finalists-

1) Food Waste Manangement - Michael Soreng,
2) Saving Grains - Elizabeth Yorke,
3) Xamplay - Nishad Menezes,
4) Lisieux Group - Dr Elsa Cherian and
5) AquaTangle - Aronstun Ralph Dsouza & Praveen Rodrigues.

For the Business Plan Contest, the following judges were chosen from panel of who`s who in the industry, to judge the finalists:

1) Errol Fernandes: CMD of Ferns Estates and Developers
2) Roshan Dsilva: Founder and CEO of TripVillas Pvt Ltd
3) Suresh John: Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of IDSNext

Charles Gomes, immediate past president KE conducted the Initiation for new KE Members, wherein he touched upon what was expected out of new KE members and how best they could utilize the KE platform to grow their business. Soon after the Business plan contest, KE member Vilina Sequeira conducted ice breaking networking session. Leena Lobo- director mentoring started the official programme by reciting a small prayer thanking God.

KE president – Clarence Pereira then welcomed the members and the finalists present to the bi-monthly meeting. President Clarence Pereira drew a corollary between the latest IPOs of two companies (Nykaa and One 97 Communications (Paytm)) which hit the market a few days back, pointing out that while the IPO of Nykaa was a success, the much awaited IPO of Paytm was a disaster. Nykaa was over-subscribed 86 times, Paytm was under-subscribed. President Clarence Pereira pointed out that with all the hype of big billion dollar valuations, the underlying fact that stood out was that whether your own business was profitable? whether your business was helping you make money for yourself? and whether your business was also helping make money for your investors?.

President Clarence Pereira also congratulated the five final participants who were shortlisted out of the 80 participants from across India. President Clarence Pereira mentioned to the participants that being out of their comfort zone and sharing their ideas to the world in itself was a great achievement and was a stepping stone for any entrepreneur. That success was like a train with several compartments, involving hard work, focus, luck, planning, etc, and leading all these compartments was the engine of confidence. President wished each and every participant the very best in the competition.

Pramod D`souza- director of membership, was then called upon to officially welcome and Induct the following 13 new members in to KE

1) Daniel Robert – Strategic Global Business head, The Flying Eagles Projects and Logistics
2) Jaison Joy Crasta – Business Partner, Crasta Corporate Services
3) Irene James – partner, Yarash Farms
4) Austin DAlmeida – chief manager, Bank of Baroda, Ulsoor Branch
5) Soji Abraham – Sr vice president, Rinac India
6) Tobby Kakkamthottil – proprietor, Meta-X
7) Joyson N – managing director, Travel 4 Seasons Services
8) Roshan Sequeira – co-founder, Quantower Technologies
9) Deepak Kumar – proprietor, Diadem Enterprises
10) David Istacky – managing Ttrustee, The Good Sam Foundation
11) Vijay George – programme manager, PayPal
12) Anthony Pillai – managing director, Rose Patterns
13) Agnel Godwin Pereira – founder and CEO, AccuDoc InfoTech

Subsequent to that business pitches were made by three KE members:

1) Sharmila Martis – The founder director of Pop In and Out Ventures and Gift of Time 'Everyone has the right to work' Through Pop In and Out Ventures, Sharmila provides part time jobs to youth and seniors in the area of their expertise. Through Gift of Time Foundation, Sharmila helps “Time Rich” people like a talented senior professionals, homemakers or a passionate youth to contribute to society. Sharmila Martis can be contacted on +919606052523.

2) Ferdinand Lawrence – The founder Adrian Lifestyles- Turnkey Interiors and Furnitures. He has been in the industry from the past 13 years. Adrian Lifestyles provides value to their customers in terms of pricing, quality, timely delivery & service. Their other products include:

-Interiors, modular kitchen, modular wardrobes, Televison unit, crockery unit, bar room counter, dressing table, altar, pooja units, shoe rack and vanity rack
-Loose Furnitures Sofa’s – customized, readymade leather, leatherette and fabric
-Beds/Cots - plywood with laminate, and fabric/leatherette
-Dining Sets – customized, readymade knockdown wardrobes, coffee cables, study tables, chairs, outdoor furniture and bean bags, Ferdinand Lawrence can be contacted on +919902030343.

3) David Istacky – CEO of Trinity Life Care (TLC): TLC is a Life Care Services & Solutions Company. They take care of elders, especially those with disabilities. TLC`s main focus is on Protecting Life, Preserving Life, Supporting Life & Celebrating Life Every Day. David Istacky can be contact on +919886030809.

Following the business pitches, Leena Lobo – director mentoring, moderated the Question and Answer session, questions to which were very clearly and distinctly answered by each of the participants.

Prize Distribution Ceremony was conducted for the participants and winners of the Business Plan Contest. President Clarence called upon The archbishop of Bangalore – Dr Peter Machado to preside over the ceremony and give away the prizes to the winners of this contest.

The first prize was won by Elizabeth Yorke - Saving Grains. The winner was awarded a cash prize of ? 50,000 + 1 year free membership at the Kanara Entrepreneurs (KE).

The runners-up was Nishad Menezes –Xamplay. The runners-up was awarded a cash prize of ? 25,000 + 1 year free membership at the Kanara Entrepreneurs (KE).

The other three finalists were awarded a prize money of ?. 10,000 + 1 year free membership at the Kanara Entrepreneurs (KE).

The archbishop of Bangalore – Dr Peter Machado addressed the gathering. He also recognized the contribution of KE to the Church and Christian community at large. He thanked KE members for having donated three ambulances, supply of oxygen cylinders and oxygen concentrators to the needy and help extended by the KE covid team during lockdown. President Clarence Pereira took a moment to thank Pramod D`souza – director membership for conceiving, conceptualizing and nurturing the idea of the Business Plan Contest. He also applauded him for single handedly driving this initiative and bringing it to a fantastic closure. President Clarence Pereira also thanked the sponsors ATC Publishers, ATC Online, Brilliant Printers, Paycorp, TripVillas for sponsoring the prizes & the stay of the participants in Bangalore.

A fun filled networking game called 'PEOPLE BINGO' was conducted by the KE mentoring team to get the members up and running with the networking game. Sharmila Martis took the initiative in conducting this game. Members were given the task of networking and collecting business cards and signatures of people who could fill their cards with the required particulars. The game was won by our newly inducted member, Jaison Joy Crasta – Business Partner, Crasta Corporate Services. KE thanks Neil Rodrigues of Konkan Restuarant and Carol D`souza of The Mangalorean for sponsoring the People Bingo prizes.

As a prelude to the KE members meeting, a new initiative - digital showcasing of members products and services was done. This month's theme was Christmas. Stalls by four members selling Christmas related products and one stall each with Leather Garments and Construction related services were put up.

1. Keroline Martis -Kuswar and Wine
2. Elaine Fernandes - Fitted B Sheets and gifting plants
3. Konkan Traders - Kuswar and wine
4. Angelina's Kitchen -Wine
5. Deccapel Fashions Pvt Ltd - Leather Garments
6. TrustBuild Construction Pvt Ltd - Construction of Residential & Commercial Properties

President Clarence Pereira gave the vote of thanks and the session concluded with open networking session, fellowship and dinner.