Page 72 - DMGT310_ENTREPRENEURSHIP_AND_SMALL_BUSINESS_MANAGEMENT

Unit 5: Women Entrepreneurship

Notes

Caselet Kiran Mazumdar

“My vision is to grow into a global bio therapeutics company with very innovative and
proprietary products and technologies.”
– Kiran Mazumdar, CEO, Biocon
She is India’s first woman Brew Master and the founder director of the Biocon Group.
India’s first lady biotech entrepreneur, Kiran Mazumdar was born and brought up in
Bangalore. She was educated in Bishop Cotton Girls School and Mount Carmel College in
the same city. Mazumdar’s childhood ambition was to be a doctor, but when she was
unable to get admission in a medical college, she decided to study zoology. After
graduation, she was encouraged by her father (who was a brew master) to pursue a career
in the science of fermentation. She went to Ballarat College in Melbourne to study malting
and brewing technology and qualified as a Brew Master.
After returning to India, she worked with her father for a few years as a consultant to some
breweries in Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore. She was on her way to join a brewery in
Scotland when a chance meeting with the founder of Biocon Biochemicals (Ireland), Leslie
Auchincloss, steered her into a career in business. She started Biocon India in 1978 in a joint
venture with the Irish firm. The company was first set up in her garage in Bangalore and
later shifted to a rented house in the suburbs of the city. Her Irish partners were willing to
help her set up the company but she refused their help as she wanted to build the company
totally on her own. In 1980, the company acquired 20 acres of land in Bangalore and shifted
operations to the new location.
In the late 1970s, biotechnology was unheard of. As a result, it was not easy to obtain funds
for the venture. Banks and financial institutions were wary of giving her loans as
biotechnology was a new field and was therefore considered “high risk”. Being a woman,
and one with no business qualification at that, made things even more difficult. Mazumdar
also faced problems recruiting people. People were reluctant to work for women
entrepreneurs as they doubted their credibility. She soon overcame these problems through
dedication and hard work.
In 1999, the Biocon Group was formed with the merger of all the companies under Biocon,
i.e. Biocon India Ltd (founded 1978), Biochemizymes (founded 1990), Syngene (founded
1994) Biocon Quest (founded 1996) and Helix (founded 1998). Commenting on Mazumdar’s
foresightedness, R.A Mashelkar, director-general of CSIR said, “Kiran Mazumdar has the
ability to see an opportunity much before others.”
Mazumdar won a number of awards. Prominent among them were the Padmashri in 1989
and the Rotary Award for Best Model Employer. She also won the M. Visweswariah
Award in 2002 for her achievements as an industrialist and her contribution to society.
Mazumdar also held positions in industry councils. She was Vice President of the
Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE) and the chairperson of the
Vision Group on Biotechnology in Karnataka, which was charged with formulating the
state’s Biotech policy.
Under Mazumdar’s leadership, Biocon grew from a small business in the garage of her
house to becoming the largest biotech company in India. She was able to achieve this by
attracting and retaining the best talent in the country. She said that she was able to achieve
this success because of her belief in the field, her magnificent team of people who shared
her passion and her determination, and her desire to succeed. Mazumdar wanted to make
Biocon a global bio-therapeutics company which developed innovative and proprietary
products and technologies.

Source: Janakiram.B., (2010), “Role and Challenges of Entrepreneurship Development”. Excel Books Pvt.
Ltd.

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