March 9, 2006	Thursday	Safar 8, 1427

Karachi, March 8: Speakers at the 10th Management Convention, organized by the Management Association of Pakistan (MAP), have emphasized the need for better strategic planning by the political and corporate leadership for the effective growth of knowledge-based economy and proliferation of transparency in the wake of globalization.

Hilmy Cader, CEO, MTI Consulting, in his presentation on “Strategizing and Marketing a Country”, here on Wednesday, said that the world was looking towards Asia for manufacturing, ITs, and raw materials and to thrive in such an environment it is crucial for the governments to strategize and plan accordingly and continuously improve the quality of life of local customers and provide value to external customers (global market) in a sustainable manner.

He said Pakistan’s competitiveness lay in its immense natural and intellectual resources and the role of the government should be to encourage development of the Pakistani brands.

According to a MAP press release, Mahboob Mahmood, Adjunct Professor INSEAD and CEO, Knowledge Platform, Singapore, highlighted the role of government in the development of industries and entrepreneurship and to eliminates barriers in their way.

His presentation on “Galvanizing Entrepreneurship” carried an interesting comparison among the developed and developing countries in terms of the time taken in the processing of licenses and permits for business.

He said that in many poor countries of the world such a procedure takes a minimum of three years to get a single permit or license.

Mahmood said, “we should stop thinking about the poor as victims or as a burden and start recognizing them as resilient and creative entrepreneurs and value-conscious consumers, a whole new world of opportunity will open up.”

Speaking on the topic “International Entrepreneurship,” Dr Walter Keummerle, Professor at Harvard Business School, stressed on strategy mapping to determine specific challenges of a country context to support the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities.

He described entrepreneurship as an opportunity driven behaviour cognizant of the resources required to pursue the opportunity.

Lalita Gupte, Joint Managing Director, ICICI Bank, India, in her presentation on “From Local to International - Marketing Innovative Products” said that banking was not only about financing, it is more about opening up franchising. She shared her experiences on direct banking and cross border remittances with the delegates.