Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A): The culture and art of India is well-known and well appreciated across the world. However, for a long time, most of this art has remained confined to the local population, managed by small businesses and entrepreneurs who have known the art in an intimate way due to the place where they have grown up. While most countries have tried to use their culture and special arts to attract tourists, in India, such cultures and arts have seldom been marketed at a major scale, with the onus of promoting them mostly falling on local people. However, now, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has curated a special course for entrepreneurs in the creative and cultural markets.
Speaking with Financial Express Online, IIM-A’s Prof Anchal Jain, who is the chairperson of the Creative & Cultural Businesses Programme (CCBP) along with Prof Amit Karna, said, “CCBP is a one of its kind programme that helps creative and cultural entrepreneurs learn to apply business management expertise and develop their growth plan and business strategy. The products and services in this space must have a strong resonance with their audience at both, an emotional and a rational level, in order for them to succeed. Therefore, the ability to understand how value is created, delivered, and enabled through a holistic business model is critical. This 15-day programme involves 3 sets of on-campus immersive modules (camps) and off-campus assignments during the rest of the time (reading material, online sessions, research). From start to completion, the duration is 6 months.”
CCBP has several objectives, some of which are “to adapt modern aesthetics, management skills, production methods to grass root levels in order to catalyze rural artisanal transformation and enhance more equitable value distribution across the value chain, to create relevance and market value for creative and cultural products, and to accelerate building and scaling of creative ventures,” Prof Amit Karna said.
The programme is designed for entrepreneurs or to-be entrepreneurs, they said, and these people must demonstrate their commitment as well as clarity of thinking to be able to go through a rigorous selection process for the programme. In the selection process, the selection committee would also hold a video interview. The admission process for the programme is currently ongoing. Entrepreneurs who are selected for the programme can be people who already have an existing business and are ready to scale it or diversify it, or people who wish to be entrepreneurs and have a very well defined idea.
Financial Express Online has been told that these entrepreneurs could have ventures in any creative and cultural sector like:
- Creative Services – Advertising, Branding, Communication Design, Creative R&D, Cultural & Recreational
- Cultural Sites – Archaeological Sites, Museums, Libraries, Exhibitions
- Design – Architecture, Interior, Graphic
- Entertainment – Film, Television, Radio, Other Broadcasting
- Home – Decor, Home Improvement, Kitchen & Dining, Furniture
- Lifestyle – Fashion, Jewellery & Watches, Travel, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Toys, Accessories
- New Media – Software, Video Games, Digitized Creative Content
- Performing Arts – Live Music, Theatre, Dance, Opera, Circus, Puppetry
- Publishing and Print Media – Books, Press, other publications
- Retail – Digital, Physical, Omni-Channel
- Traditional Cultural Expressions – Arts and Crafts, Festivals, Celebrations
- Visual Arts – Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Antiques
“This 15-day programme is delivered through 3 sets of in-class interactions on campus (camps) across 6 months, with research, assignments and online interaction between camps. It involves (i) three academic camps, (ii) presentations and discussions led by faculty and experts (brand owners, craftsmen, retailers, and consultants), (iii) project critiques, (iv) mentor engagement (v) webinars, (vi) brainstorming and networking with contemporary thought leaders in the design space and (vii) platform to present business ideas to industry experts and stakeholders,” Prof Jain said.
The first set of classes in the programme is set to begin on January 10 and it will go on for six days till January 15, followed by a second six-day set from April 11 to 16. The third camp or set would only last for three days from June 22 to June 24.
Giving us an idea of what students can look forward to during the programme, Prof Karna said, “In each classroom session, participants are expected to analyze, discuss, and suggest a suitable course of action for the identified dimensions of the business case. Equally important is the task of understanding concepts and ideas from the readings and articles given to participants. The participants are required to build on their respective business cases and prepare for the final showcase to a panel of industry leaders.”
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