SIGNING OF MoU BETWEEN XIM, BHUBANESWAR AND ICICI FOUNDATION

On 15th November 2022, XIM, Bhubaneswar, signed an MoU with ICICI Foundation for
Inclusive Growth in order to promote start-ups and entrepreneurship in India. An initiative to
support the entrepreneurial revolution in India, ICICI bank promotes Incubators for Impact in
various top tier educational institutions. The event was attended by dignitaries from the
administration and ICICI foundation, along with entrepreneurs, faculty members, alums and
students.
Professor Satyendra Nath Mishra from XIM, Bhubaneswar was the moderator for the event
and he started by introducing the organizations and laying the agenda for the day.
Professor D. V. Ramana from XIM, Bhubaneswar spoke about how uniqueness in a start-up
is more important than the valuation. To support his stance, he said “We believe in creating
unicorns, but we will also create turtles”, referring to the famous turtle breeding industry of
Odisha. He then stressed upon the need to generate societal returns over financial returns and
expressed his belief in start-ups serving the purpose of lowering the number of NEET (Not in
Employment, Education or Training) population.
Mr. Suketu Kumar, Head Operations, Rural Inclusions at ICICI Foundation focused on the
societal value generated by start-ups. He said, “if your metric of measuring success is
determined by financial valuations alone, then your working model will be structured in a
way to focus on ROI alone. However, today, providing returns to society is also equally
necessary.” He also acknowledged the similarities in the philosophy of both XIM and ICICI
Foundations, both focusing on maximizing the societal value added.

Mr. Rakesh Kumar Nayak from ICICI Foundation, facilitated the signing of MoU between
Fr. Antony R Uvari, S.J. of XIM, Bhubaneswar and Mr. Anuj Agarwal, CEO, ICICI
Foundation.
Fr. Antony R Uvari highlighted how the phrase “Inclusive Growth” resonates with the vision,
mission and value statement of XIM, Bhubaneswar. Citing the example of how XIM played
an integral part in the success of Milk Mantra, an Odisha based start-up, he stressed upon the
need for hard work, integrity and honesty for a start-up to flourish. He said, “Businesses will
grow tremendously only if we have commitment.” With this, he affirmed that at XIM,
inclusive growth will be promoted, while ensuring that the academic rigor is not
compromised.
Mr. Avijit Saha, President, ICICI Foundation, highlighted the importance of rural inclusions
in start-ups and how valuations are sub-ordinate to the value generated through problem
solving. He stressed upon the need to identify a unique problem and solving it using
innovative offerings. He also focused upon the importance of the rural sector in our economy
and called upon entrepreneurs to break ground with their work in this sector. He concluded
his speech with a message for the budding entrepreneurs, saying, “Never chase being a
unicorn. Focus on what you want to do and innovatively you want to do it. Valuations will
follow automatically.”
Mr. Anuj Agarwal, CEO, ICICI Foundation, reaffirmed the similarities in their purpose and
the vision of XIM, Bhubaneswar. He said that when the two organizations come together,
they will build something big. He also encouraged everyone to not turn their eyes away from
the fact that the focus is not as much on business, as it is on the impact. With XIM,
Bhubaneswar, bringing expertise in business management, rural management and
sustainability management, all domains of business will be able to benefit through the
collaboration. He concluded by saying, “Failure is an option, but not trying enough is not an
option. We will never compromise on quality, or the help and services we provide.”

The event ended with Professor Satyendra Nath Mishra thanking all the attendees, ICICI
Foundation, Vice Chancellor, XIM Bhubaneswar, Registrar Office, Deputy Registrar Office
and the entire XIM fraternity for making the event, a grand success.