China and India are witnessing rapid growth in innovation and technology with business and investment opportunities increasing between the two. China is home to some of the world’s largest and most influential entrepreneurial ecosystem focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Big Data, Virtual Banking and Smart Cities. Big changes in India’s startup and funding ecosystem is driving growth in AI, Fintech, Consumer Goods, Travel, Medical and Health, Agriculture and Education sectors. With China and India accounting for nearly 38% of the combined world population, with large domestic markets, both countries have forged different paths to support their entrepreneurs and innovators, making many of them succeed in their own markets and overseas. With a growing appetite for more technology, internet and smartphones, they are becoming innovators and consumers in one of the largest markets for e-commerce.

The afternoon discussion will showcase business leaders from India and China who will share their experiences of how they build their companies, the challenges they faced, identifying potential areas of collaboration. They will compare and contrast the two entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystems, best practices and where they see the next stage of innovation and growth coming from.

Speakers include:

• Consul General of India, Shanghai Mr. Anil Kumar Rai
• Mr. Mark Harrison, Partner Deal Advisory, KPMG, completed over 200 transactions in China, with expertise in joint ventures and investments
• Mr. James Zhu, Founder, Fanli, experienced leader in both big MNCs and internet start-up ventures
• Mr. Andrew Fan, Chief Strategy Advisor, Vitargent (International) Biotechnology Ltd., award-winning biotech company and pioneers in the field of safety testing technology
• Mr. Ranjit Barthakur, Founding Trustee and Chairman Balipara Foundation, has led Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, Telecommunications, Tourism, Technology, Environment, Ecology, Outsourcing and Healthcare industries in India
• Mr. Vikram Gupta, Founding & Managing Partner, IvyCap, largest home-grown Venture Capital fund in India with over 20 years of experience in Business Consulting, M&A, Strategy and Technology across multiple sectors
• Mr. Sujit Chatterjee, Co-Founder, Zeta-V Technology Solutions, leading a platform connecting Chinese hardware with Indian software with local presence in Dalian. They operate the Sino-Indian Digital Collaboration Plaza (SIDCOP) serving a range of customers in the Greater China region including global MNCs
• Ms. Karena Belin, Founder WHub & AngelHub, she has been a leader in the startup space since 2013
• Mr. Syed Musheer Ahmed, MD FinSTEP Asia, Founding Board Member FinTech Association of Hong Kong
• Mr. Sanjay Khan Nagra, Partner, Khaitan & Co., Corporate & Commercial Partner in one of India’s leading law firms, focusing on M&A, consumer internet and IT/ITeS services
• Mr. Alan Rosling, Chairman Griffin Growth Partners, co-founder of Kiran Energy and the first non-Indian Executive Director of Tata Sons charged with internationalization (Moderator)

Technology and Innovation Series

From Silicon Valley to the Greater Bay Area and beyond, the global economy is now in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In 2019, the Asia Society Hong Kong Center has inaugurated The Technology and Innovation Series to convene the world’s visionary vanguard to explore the latest trends, insights and projections on how the next phase of innovation and disruptive technology will shape the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.