Transform your business with the WeSchool Post Graduate Program in Entrepreneurship (PGP-Entrepreneurship)

Harshit Mehta has big plans for Abhinav Industries, the plastics disposable business his father founded in the small Union Territory port of Daman in 1998. Currently headquartered in Mumbai, the business has now grown into Asia’s largest manufacturer of plastic disposables, churning out over 400 types of products.

Harshit, who is the Director and Chief Programme Officer (CPO) of Abhinav Industries, is an alumnus of the Post Graduate Program in Entrepreneurship (PGP-Entrepreneurship) from WeSchool by Welingkar Institute of Management , and credits that the knowledge he gathered from the Program helped him steer the company to where it is today.

“During the course, I learnt about gemba, a Japanese word that means ‘the real place’. In business, gemba refers to the place where ‘value’ is created; in manufacturing the gemba is the factory floor. My indepth and focussed involvement on the factory floor resulted in better production values. It also brought me closer to my staff,” says Harshit.

He says, he also learned to innovate by visiting established customers and understanding their requirements before designing products, instead of the traditional way.

“The WeSchool curriculum with its deep-rooted focus on the practical application of theory throughout the duration of the Program, has helped me acquire, apply and assimilate the latest management concepts in my business. It has empowered me to think beyond conventional parameters of competition like pricing, quality etc., and to work on new business drivers like design thinking, innovation and customer-focused profitable business models. Through the Program learnings that I applied, I was also able to reduce the company’s electricity bills from 5 percent of the production bills to just 3 percent; and this was just one among the many tangible benchmark results,” he says.

He adds that the Program has helped him develop the maturity and empathy to appreciate the core values and generation-old business practices of the Joint Family Business, and seamlessly amalgamate them with his newly acquired modern management concepts.

Harshit now has his eyes set on a bigger prize. Not content with being Asia’s biggest disposable plastics manufacturer in Asia, he plans to grow Avinash Electricals into the biggest manufacturer of its kind in the world.

About the Program

Welingkar Education’s PGP-Entrepreneurship Program is an 11-month, first-of-its-kind Program especially for young scions, businessmen who own small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and budding entrepreneurs. It’s a comprehensive approach to being a successful entrepreneur. The carefully structured Program keeps the students’ working life in mind, and the course has been structured accordingly. It strikes a balance between imparting real-world, practical knowledge, inspiring a spirit of leadership, and inculcating an innovative and professional mindset.

The course includes best management and governance practices and family continuity challenges.

The Program is structured around the triple pillars of Acquisition, Application and Assimilation of Knowledge (AAA). Every month, one week is devoted to the Acquisition of Knowledge, three weeks for the Application of Knowledge in one’s own business and one day for Assimilation of Knowledge. 

The WeSchool advantage

WeSchool is ranked among the Top 50 B-Schools in India by NIRF. It is also awarded the Best Management Institute of the Year 2015 award from the Bombay Management Association (BMA).

For young business owners, who are taking over the reins of the family business, some of the clear advantages this Program are:

1. Industry insights: The course is taught by instructors with significant industrial or entrepreneurial experience. Many also serve as mentors, advisors and consultants to business and industry. The instructors help students adapt the learning to suit their individual business needs.
2. Real-world perspectives: Classes are held for one month every week and have a strong practical element. The students are expected to apply their learning at work over the rest of the month.
3. Bridge the generation gap: ’Parent Interaction’ sessions are held every semester so that the students and the previous generation handling the business can stay aligned with the inputs students are receiving.
4. Global perspectives: A Global outreach Program is conducted annually to bring forth the global perspective to business. This consists of visits to world class companies in a very advanced country - Japan, which boasts of one of the highest quality and productivity cultures in the world. Students get the chance to assimilate some of the best practices and business principles in the world and understand how to adapt them to bring about growth in their businesses back home. This completely immersive experience in a global scenario prepares them to compete with the best in the business and with world-class competitors.
5. Dress for success: Personality development and self-discovery labs help students improve their confidence levels and portray the image of a business leader who will be taken seriously.
6. Strengthen the basics: The course helps students analyse their company's balance sheet and profit & loss account, while showing opportunities for improvement. Students learn how to significantly improve productivity of existing operations without financial investment, how to maximise potential for growth, and develop new approaches to business.
7. Cutting-edge campus: The Welingkar campus itself is a haven for new thoughts, ideas and enterprise with state-of-the-art facilities such as a Wi-Fi-enabled campus, Innovation & Leadership Labs and numerous other new-age learning tools.

Who should apply

If you are a graduate from a recognised university and are a first or second-generation entrepreneur, an SME owner from any industry or are keen to start your own venture, look no further than this Program. You will be groomed to manage and grow your business, with the best business processes and practices.

So, if you are ready to learn to think out-of-the-box and learn best practices to steer your company to the next level of success, then the WeSchool Post Graduate Program in Entrepreneurship (PGP-Entrepreneurship) is just right for you. Applications are now open for the next batch.

Apply now and transform your business. The last date for application is 20 November 2017.