» 01/16/2012 14:15 INDIA Christian business people to focus on ethics, the poor and the marginalised by Nirmala Carvalho This is what Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, urged them to do at Entreprenet 2012, an international convention of Christian business people and professionals. A banker calls for reaching out to the marginalised sections of society through development, education and training. A Mumbai businessman calls for business activities based on Christian values.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – For Christian entrepreneurs, a “quest for excellence and success” is essential. However, this must “be accompanied by the necessity of serving society and the nation,” said Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, as he opened Entreprenet 2012, a convention for Christian entrepreneurs and professionals held on 13-14-January in Mumbai. Reading from the Parable of the Talents, the prelate urged Christian business people “to take care of the poor and the marginalised in society and uphold ethics in business.”
A joint initiative of Dimensions and Kanara Entrepreneurs Global (KE Global), the event gave Christian business people from India an opportunity to meet their international counterparts. About 400 people attended.
The various speakers addressed issues like human rights, finance, business development, technology, as well as customer relations, customer satisfaction, and success stories.
Dimensions founder and director Freddy Mendonca said the event was organised to encourage Christian business people to network with one another and learn from each other’s experiences.
In the keynote speech, 'Emerging India, The Growth Story’, Prof Prabhu Guptara, executive director of Wolfsberg (a subsidiary of UBS, one of the largest banks in the world), stressed the importance of reaching out to the marginalised sections of society with education, training programmes and health improvement projects. Guptara also teaches at the William Carey University in Shillong (Meghalaya), a prestigious Indian university.
Mumbai businessman Gul Kripalani said that Christian values should be inculcated in the way people do business. All different Christian groups should work towards this.
“Dimensions has a commitment to business ethics and corporate social responsibility,” Mendonca told AsiaNews.
“Considering the current scenario, because of the recession and taking into account India's growth rate has been phenomenal, besides our manpower resources, which could be harnessed, we invite global investors to come and become valued partner in the community”. This country constitutes a great place for investment, “with tremendous growth potential”. People should “utilize its opportunities to invest and grow with India.”
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