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The meeting began at 11.15 a.m. with an opening address by Mr. V.M. Raut, Resident Manager, Thermax and the Master of the Ceremony, who welcomed everyone who have taken precious time off on their weekend to attend the first meeting of Gulf Marathi Business Forum for the year 2006.

Mr. Sandeep Kadwe, a founder member of the forum circulated the list of members to everyone to check their email ids, tel. Numbers, etc. and make necessary corrections. Mr. Raut gave a brief synopsis of the Vision and Mission of the forum, and welcomed the four lady entrepreneurs who were the day’s main speakers.

The meeting was divided into two parts. Before the break, some senior members and other new members were invited to say a few words, i.e. introduce themselves and their activities and the second half had the four women entrepreneurs speaking about their projects.

Mr. Sandeep invited the Secretary of the Maharashtra Mandal, Dubai Mr. Prakash Kelkar to say a few words about the activities of the Forum. He appreciated the way the forum has come up in last two years. He promised to contribute more actively in the forum activities now. We appreciate your participation Prakash.

A new member Major Suneel Bhamburkar, now an entrepreneur(Business Consultant) , was invited to introduce himself and speak about his activities and how he could contribute to the forum. Major Suneel has been advising industries in the GCC on Quality, Environmental, Health and Safety Management Systems, Dubai Quality Award and JACHO (JCI), Balance scorecard and Six Sigma consultancy. Major Bhamburkar informed the attendees that in his line of business he had approx. 70 customers whose details he would gladly share with the members of the forum if it could be of any assistance.

After Mr. Bhamburkar’s brief address, Mr. Raut invited Mr. Ashok Kale a very senior member of Maharashtra Mandal and a founder member of the GMBF to say a few words. “Ideas are small little things but they won’t move unless you do so” began Mr. Ashok Kale and went on to mention that an idea will remain so unless you work on it immediately. Mr. Mahesh Shukla added that any idea which comes to your mind, must be implemented within 90 days… this is a policy which certain organizations are insisting upon!!

The next person to come forward to speak was a young lady, the daughter of an entrepreneur and founder member of the forum, Mr. Satish Adurkar and an active member of the forum. Ms. Udita Adurkar, who has just completed her Masters in Materials Science and Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology joint program with Emery University. She completed her Undergraduation (B.S.) at University of California, San Diego in 2003 in Bioengineering: Bio Technology. Her focus is biomedical industry and has also worked on molecular diagnostic approaches utilizing nanotechnology, specifically nanoparticles. She has taken a year’s break to spend some time with her parents, an opportunity she believes that every daughter should get after their education and before their future family responsibilities. The Forum wishes her all the very best in all her endeavors.

After Ms. Udita’s address, a guest.. Mr. Rajsekhar, who is an associate of Mr. V M Raut’s organization, an entrepreneur in his own right with two companies spoke of his achievements and how he would like to contribute to the forum by way of value addition in the process industry, recovery of pollution, energy conservation and protecting the environment. He added that India, with all its technologies is way ahead in these fields. He informed the forum that he was also dealing with “bio degradable” products, which means that he was also dealing with a lot of peripherals required along with the main product sold.

After concluding his speech, Mr. Raj handed over the podium to Mr. Raut who announced that there would be a short break of 15 minutes, to return at 12.00 p.m. for the second part of the meeting.

Everyone gathered promptly at 12.00 p.m. and before the main speakers were invited to speak, Mr. Sandeep Kadwe expressed that these meetings should be held atleast once in 2 months so that we do not lose touch with the forum and we could follow up on the various issues that require constant communication. He requested all the members to be more email friendly and acknowledge the email/ SMS communications. He also requested that instead of one person organizing these meetings every time, everyone can take chances in organizing them in order that they are innovative and creative and also for the reason that each one of us understands the details of organizing such meetings and at the same time, communicates with all the members. Instantly, Mr. Shirish Patwardhan took the lead and has taken the responsibility of organizing the next meeting. Thanks a lot, Shirish. We request all the members to cooperate with Mr. Shirish for organizing the next meeting.

Mr. Sandeep Kadwe thanked all the attendees for having come to attend the meeting in the middle of their busy schedules. He highlighted two important developments and mentioned that Mr. Sudhir Mandke, Chairman, Sudhir Mandke Developers, Pune/Mumbai had visited Dubai last week and met few members of forum. He was updated on the forum’s activities and Mr. Mandke expressed his enthusiasm by offering his offices in Pune and Mumbai for the benefit of Gulf Marathi Forum activities/ meetings along with a dedicated staff. We appreciate your encouragement, motivation and support Mr. Mandke. Mr. Sandeep also mentioned that he had discussions with Mr. A.C. Patankar, Principal Advisor, CII, who is responsible for the entire Middle East, West Asia and North Africa, regarding the forthcoming 2nd India GCC Industrial Conference in Muscat in the last week of March06. Many members shown very keen interest in attending the same, after receiving the confirmation from CII.

Mr. Sandeep also mentioned that the Forum is considering a formal registration with respective authorities now to benefit from such registration and obtain support from UAE and Indian government/ professional councils and organizations.

He concluded his address and handed over the podium to Mr. Raut who then went on to invite the first speaker of the meeting…Mrs. Smita Kale, a housewife turned entrepreneur, who with the assistance of her husband, has acquired the distributorship of Warana Milk Powder, a household name in India, for the Middle East under the name of Al Sanaiya Foodstuff. She mentioned that in the first year of operation, she reached a turnover of AED 10 Million, which is very commendable and appreciable. Well done Smita ! When asked about her experience and the problems she had to face, she said that she would like to thank her husband and other family members for all their support in her new endeavor. She also mentioned that she will work on her marketing strategy and requested the members of the forum that she looked forward to any support that they could provide for her business to expand and flourish. Many of the members have shown their support and have agreed to provide information as required. All the best, Smita… you can count on us!!!

The next speaker, another budding woman entrepreneur.. Mrs. Rama Kale, with an M.Sc. in Physics and an MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Pune, along with qualifications in Lead Auditor in ISO 9001 –2000 Certifications has just launched her new company, Foster Management Systems offering expertise in that line of business. She is duly supported and encouraged by her husband Mr. Ravi Kale. They are also offering Consultancy Services in Training, Internal Audits, Implementation, Post Certification Services, etc. She went on to thank Mr. Ashok Kale and Shrikant Kale for their staunch support and encouragement. All of us wish you the very best, Rama. The members of the forum assure you of their support.

The next two entrepreneurs for the day - two housewives, turned entrepreneurs who have launched their own company – DANKOL L.L.C. in January 2006. Mrs. Ujwala Dani and Mrs, Shaila Kolangade. Their company is a Dubai based technical trading company catering to Building Services, Infrastructure, Utilities and Industries in the Middle East, especially electrical items for the Building Construction Industry. They stock and sell Legrand products for apartment and villas, commercial application, healthcare facilities and industrial applications. Our congratulations to you both and we all wish you the best for the future. The members of the forum will be there for any advice that you would require and also contribute effectively towards your business.

There was a huge round of applause for the four enthusiastic entrepreneurs. The next speaker, Mr. Vikram Lele, founder member of the forum and a very enterprising businessman came forward to share some very important information for the members of the forum. He spoke about the huge opportunity in the Chinese markets and this was the best time for anyone who wanted to diversify into a new field. He also added that there is tremendous potential in the Malaysian, Korean and Indonesian markets, which need to be tapped!! He also added that presently, there is tremendous scope in Outsourcing Management and that he would be able to help out if anyone had any requirement.

Mr. Sandeep Kadwe then announced that members of the forum who would like to report on the progress of their business may please come forward. Mr. Chirantan Joshi informed the forum that he had obtained the trade license of Container Handling (Loading and Unloading) as there is tremendous opportunity in that line of business in the Dubai market.

Mr. Udayshankar Bolan, founder member of the forum and resident of Dubai for the last 27 years, working for Al-Futtaim group of companies in their Electronics Retail outlet Plug-Ins Electronics told the members that though he was not a businessman, he would be only too glad to provide any guidance and networking help if so required.

Mr. Ashok Vartak, founder member of the forum was requested to say a few words. He informed the members that even though the Construction industry was booming, it would be advisable to invest in land and not in apartments. You could invest in apartments unless you are the end user, he added. Mr. Vasant Lad informed the forum that the price of land in Kabul was very cheap and if anyone was interested, they could invest there.

Mr. Sandeep Kadwe spoke of his appointment as Consultant for Bahrain Defence Force. He also said that he was doing the feasibility study to start a project in Tourism. He has come out with some figures but would be putting it to the forum once it is completed. He also informed the forum that he had invested in some agricultural land in India and suggested that investment in agricultural land could be useful for the members if they are eligible to invest and if someone can take care of the land/ to till the land themselves.

Mr. Vasant Lad, Partner of Behl, Lad and Sayegh Chartered Accountants, announced that their company of ten years were opening their office in Abu Dhabi and had already opened a branch office in Kabul, Afghanistan. He also mentioned that he had some clients who were looking for consultants in ISO certifications and that he would inform Mrs. Rama Kale of the same.

To conclude the meeting, Mrs. Usha Udayshankar mentioned that the minutes would be ready and circulated to all the members through Mr. Sandeep Kadwe. She also requested the forum members that an agenda should be prepared so that the speakers are aware of the time taken by them, they come prepared with their notes and thereby having a focused and well timed meeting.

There being no other matter to discuss, the meeting concluded at 1.45 p.m.

Notes of appreciation:

· Appreciate the efforts of Mr. V.M. Raut for taking the responsibility of co ordinating this meeting and successfully conducting/ managing the meeting. His experience as Toastmasters was indeed useful to us.

· We all appreciate the lead taken by Mr. Shirish Patwardhan for taking the responsibility to co ordinate and arrange the next meeting.

· Many thanks to Mrs. Usha Udayshankar for an excellent preparation of Minutes of Meeting. We look forward to your continued support.

· Many thanks to Mr. Sudhir Mandke for offering your valuable support.

Next Steps

· Tentative Date For Next Meeting: March 1^st Week.

· List of the members is published on website www.gulfmarathi.com/forumcontacts.html Please let us know if its correct/ if we are missing anyone in the list.

· The members who missed this meeting, please spare some time to attend the next meeting.

Please click here to see photos of Event-4