Lufthansa Begins the Search for India’s Most Innovative SMEs in Bengaluru on August 12, 2017

Celebrating the spirit of Indian entrepreneurship, Lufthansa Runway to Success enters its fifth season in search of India’s most innovative Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs). Conceived and developed by Lufthansa in partnership with the business experts at TiE, Lufthansa Runway to Success recognizes and nurtures potential leaders by encouraging SMEs to come forward and share their vision with some of the best known names in the Indian business industry. Focused on discovering, mentoring and rewarding potential leaders of tomorrow, the Lufthansa Mentorship Camps are being held across key regions nationally namely Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Jaipur, Kochi, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Hubli and Hyderabad.

On August 12, 2017, Lufthansa invites young and aspiring entrepreneurs in Bengaluru to share the story of their unique business ventures and provided an opportunity to them for meeting with industry icons, receive mentorship from business experts, investors, VCs, accelerators, industry associations, service organizations, corporates and more. The Lufthansa Runway to Success regional mentorship camp by TiE Bangalore was held at NS Raghavan Centre of Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL), Bannerghatta Road, Sundar Ram Shetty Nagar, Bilekahalli, Bengaluru from 11:30 a.m. – 03:30 p.m.

Over the past 4 years Lufthansa Runway to Success platform has grown exponentially into a nationwide campaign and has witnessed a diverse portfolio of over 150,000 budding entrepreneurs. Wolfgang Will, Senior Director, South Asia, Lufthansa Group shared, “Entrepreneurs are a very important target group for Lufthansa in India. And Runway to Success brings alive for this audience our philosophy of Nonstop You and our promise of striving to be More Indian Than You Think. This season, we are excited to further expand our outreach with mentorship camps at start-up hubs like Bengaluru.”

Bengaluru occupies a unique position in the startup world and has fast emerged as one of the promising startup hubs in the country. The ecosystems emerged due to the initial foundation laid in the form of government–industry–academia and their interactions leading to the emergence of a modern industrial cluster followed by an information technology and biotechnology cluster, which then led to R&D cluster serving the city. 

The joint program by Lufthansa and TiE, will endow participants with the knowledge and skillset to enhance their competitiveness, provided them an exclusive access to resources, like-minded peers, business connections, and inspiring mentors. SMEs in Bengaluru will benefit from ‘guru sessions’ with celebrated entrepreneurs, along with individual guidance by experienced mentors like Avinash Sabharwal, Managing Director- Accenture Ventures and Open Innovation, Accenture in India; Madhuri Hegde, Founder & CEO, Mayflower Language Services; Satish Mugulavalli, YourNest Venture Capital; Anjana Vivek, Founder Director, VentureBean and Vaitheeswaran K, Serial Entrepreneur, Author.

“Lufthansa and TiE Delhi-NCR have been working closely together for the past 5 years to build Lufthansa Runway to Success as a platform to nurture future business leaders in India“, shared Geetika Dayal, Executive Director, TiE Delhi-NCR. “Guru Sessions at Lufthansa Runway to Success Mentorship camps held by TiE Chapters across the country provide a platform for experts to pass on valuable insights and business lessons that they have learned through experience. We hope that the participants get a better understanding of entrepreneurship for their entrepreneurial journey” added Geetika.

Lufthansa Runway to Success Mentorship camps will culminate at a Startup Expo, a large standalone event by any corporate house, in DelhiNCR during latter half of August 2017.