"There are about 60 Basque companies set up in India, and there are opportunities for many more."
Leonor Martinez, born in the Basque Country came to India in 2006. So far the experience has been positive but recognizes that it is not easy to adjust in India, but interesting.
What do you do in India and for how long have you been here?
I first came to India in January 2006 with an internship program of the Basque Government to work for the Economic and Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy in Delhi; and later to work for Telvent, from Abengoa Group for 8 months. I was given the chance to select the destination and I decided to choose among the four options that were available in Asia (Delhi, Beijing, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur). China was my preferred choice, although I also had interest for India. Eventually I was selected for the OFECOMES of New Delhi, which scared me a little at the beginning because at that time I didn’t know anybody who had been in India before me and it was not a destiny as popular as it is today, at the business and touristic level.
The reason for my choice was a very powerful hunch for India that started in my childhood and the intuition as well that India would become one of the principal places for investment that would generate big business opportunities in the long term; thus the professional interest was high. My first stage in India developed in Delhi, where I lived for one year and a half; and the second one in Mumbai, where I live at present, since May 2008.
What were your main worries in the personal and the professional aspects?
Since I didn’t have any references from previous experiences, my worries were ignoring how the social reality would impact on me, as it is hard and full of inequalities and contrasts. It is something impossible to imagine until you see it face to face, and I dragged this uncertainty for several months until I arrived in Delhi and I saw that this was a different world, with different ways of doing and different mental schemes.
Adjusting to India is a paramount thing and it is not easy to grasp. It depends on how much you are willing to dive into its reality and on the interest that you put in getting to understand their culture and their customs. In my case, I would say that with the years, I have adapted well to the country and to the Indian people, although I still don’t understand and won’t do certain things. In many occasions, you need to make a big effort to think like them in order to live with them and to understand them. Diving into India is not an easy path, but it is indeed an interesting one, full of ups and downs and experiences that are sometimes so hard that won´t leave you untouched.
In the professional ground, I had no further worries others to that of joining a new job, with new people, that in the end, since they were mostly Spanish, did not result a problem in terms of adaptation. The world of business, being a woman in India, has its particularities, but we learn from doing, and this continues to be the way.
Is the experience developing as expected? What is the most positive aspect?
My experience both in the personal and the professional grounds differs a lot from Delhi to Mumbai. In the end, you come to realize that this country has many different realities and in the end, the good thing about being here is that you need to live with all of them.
The most positive side of my professional experience in India is that I have had the chance to establish the company structure from the beginning, to create a group; and with it, to satisfactorily help the Basque companies in their internationalization process in the country.
What about the main difficulties? What was the hardest part?
In the personal field, getting to accept the harsh reality of Indian society and seeing how hard they act among themselves. The lack of respect that can be noticed in everyday life and the contrasts in the streets is something to which I will never get used to.
Professional wise, the beginning was complicated, due to the huge implicit bureaucracy in every stage of management and the difference in the modus operandi. You need to be aware of absolutely every aspect and you can’t take anything for granted. Even then, problems arise and you need to be ready to take in setbacks and contingencies that in the first glance seem unconceivable for a non-Indian mind.
After what you have learned, what would you change if you would have to start over?
Really, I wouldn’t change anything, the learning process that each of us undergoes is what it is, unique; thus I can’t imagine how it would have been otherwise. There are a couple of things that I have pending, like improving my Hindi and playing the tabla (a classic music percussion instrument), but in general I feel satisfied.
Any plans for the future?
I plan to get back to Bilbao and have a better quality life. I have been 12 years living out of the Basque Country in big cities, so I miss a lot living with no noise and to breathing clean air.
How is the project that you are managing going? And which are your (companies’) plans of future in India?
SPRI India has been present in India since 2008 and the activities of assistance to the Basque companies from the representation office in Mumbai, capital of the state of Maharashtra, economic, commercial and financial centre of the country. Since then, we have been assisting more than 300 Basque companies in their trajectory in India, providing a range of services, from which stand: market research studies tailored for the company, identification and evaluation of potential collaborators (suppliers, clients, partners for Joint Ventures, distributors,…); assistance in the process of commercial/productive set up; assistance in the negotiations with Indian companies, mediation with administrative organs and local public institutions, consulates, embassies, organization of sector workshops, and inverse missions to the Basque Country, among others.
The plan for the future is to continue to be present in India in order to assist our companies.
In your opinion, how big is the potential for Basque companies in India?
The potential in India is immense now and in the long term, because this is an economy that is in full development with 1.200 million people, a majority of young people, which makes a difference from other emerging countries and a growing middle class with a consumer tendency of demanding more and of more quality.
To sell in India, it depends on what product and at what price. There is top technology in certain sectors that India still doesn’t need to have. However it should be outlined that in mature sectors such as the automotive for example, the MNC's producing in the country tend to automatize their processes, needing to substitute more and more the workforce.
This means a problem for India. It needs to provide work to millions of people if it wants to achieve an inclusive economic development, taking into consideration its social scenario. But, on the other hand, given the circumstances of the country regarding labor laws and in certain areas, low productivity, some companies see themselves forced to substitute personnel for machines.
India is still competitive in comparison to other Asiatic countries in relation to workforce costs, so it can be a suitable production destiny for exports. Approximately one month back, there has been a change in government and there are good perspectives that the country goes back to reach growth rates of 8-9% in the long term. For that, there will have to be materialized important projects and investments in infrastructure, which will drag along other sectors that are important for the Basque industry.
India needs technology and industrial design, so there is a big interest in technology transfer agreements and collaboration agreements on part of local companies. The main sectors that offer opportunities of business for the Basque companies are the infrastructure, civil engineering, equipment, forging, energy, automotive, IT, Biotechnology, among others.
There are approximately fifty Basque companies operating in India. Do you see opportunities for other companies?
There are about 60 Basque companies set up in India, and there are opportunities for many more. The majority of the companies operating are SMEs and they belong to industrial sectors, like automotive, equipment for energy sector, forging, railways, machine tool and engineering. Almost half of them manufacture in the country without having an Indian partner in a Joint Venture. This option, over the years, has proven to be non successful in India, from what we have experienced.
We see a tendency that there is a growing interest not only in exporting to India but also in being present in India through either a representation or commercial office. In some of the sectors, it is required, due to market requirement; and in others, to manufacture in the country is paramount in order to be competitive.
What is in your opinion the key to succeed in India?
Invested time and effort in studying thoughtfully the market, taking into account its size, its changing patterns, its complexity and its limitations.
Having a long term vision and facing it with a lot of enthusiasm and positive attitude. Patience and above all, perseverance. Learning from the Indians and their way of doing to act “in the Indian way”. Selecting the local assistants in legal and tax issues.
Breaking the schemes and applying the “when in Rome, do as the Romans”.
Forming a good local team and having an expatriate that is well adapted, in order to avoid continuous rotations.
Having a very good communication with the central office in the country of origin so that it understands that India is a different world, and as such, many things need to be oriented and acted upon differently.
Before embarking in the adventure, having references from companies already set up in the country and obtaining information about its set up, in order to get practical and real information of others experiences. It always helps.
Any book or website that you would recommend specially?
About India, I would recommend some, like:
Conquering the chaos – Venkatesan
In spite of the Gods – Edward Luce
Land of the Seven Rivers – Sanjeev Sanyal
The War of Water
The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga