CIF-Indiaspora Collaboration
Venture Capital │ Trilateral Ties │ Philanthropy
Canada India Foundation in conjunction with Indiaspora organised a networking dinner reception for the Indiaspora delegation visiting Canada from the United States of America on Sunday 14 October 2018 at Sheraton Centre Toronto.
CIF members discussed topics of mutual interest such as venture capital, educational bursaries and philanthropy with Indiaspora delegation.
Hon. Monte McNaughton, Ontario’s Minister for Infrastructure, Hon. Deepak Obhrai, MP, Dr. Asha Seth, Former Senator, were the VIPs who participated in the program.
In his remarks Hon. Minister McNaughton said that Ontario is geared to work closely with India to build strong economic ties and would utilise the immense talent pool of Indo-Canadians as a leverage to improve relations with India.
He also welcomed the attempt to forge a three-nation relationship, and assured cooperation to ensure that such an endeavour would succeed.
Hon. Deepak Obhrai, Member of Parliament, lauded the efforts of Canada India Foundation in promoting bilateral relations and advocating for the interests of Indo-Canadians.
In his welcome remarks, Satish Thakkar, National Convener, Canada India Foundation, said that considering that both CIF and Indiaspora share similar objectives, both the organisations should try to collaborate on a few deliverables such as
Focus on technology/ innovation/ entrepreneurship/ venture capital and supporting startups. The US has considerable experience and depth in the sphere of venture capital which can be channelized to aid Canadian startups.
Advocating stronger North American ties with India.
Philanthropy – to conduct philanthropy in a focused manner in North America and in India
Indiaspora delegates
Anil Shah, Chair of CIF briefed the delegation about the history of Canada India Foundation and its achievements during the last 11 years.
MR Rangaswami, the Founder of Indiaspora, said the organisation is a not-for-profit US-India
bilateral relation promotion organization based in Washington DC.
It acts as a catalyst to transform the success of Indian Americans into meaningful impact in India and on the global stage.
Ajit Someshwar, the Immediate Past Chair, CIF, led the discussion between the CIF members and Indiaspora delegation on a range of issues including venture capital, philanthropy and cooperation on trilateral relations between Canada, India and the United States.
CIF’s Past Chair Dr. V I Lakshmanan gave an overview of the Foundation’s efforts at creating awareness about the Indo-Canadian diaspora and its entrepreneurs in the Canadian mainstream.
The Indiaspora delegation included Vinny Gupta, CEO, InNow; Ranjan Manoranjan, Principal, PRIME AE; Shefali Mehta, Executive Director, Soil Health Partnership; Bijal Patel, VP – Development, Coast Redwood Hospitality; Dennis Mehta, Chairman, India Israel Technology Group; Tel Ganesan, Managing Director, Kyyba Innovations; Gary Gauba, Founder, The CXO Fund; Anurag Varma, VP – Global Government Affairs, Infosys; Frank Islam, Founder, The FI Investment Group; Debbie Driesman, VP, Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman Foundation; Navneet Chugh, Managing Partner, Chugh LLP; Manju Luthria, Senior Economist, World Bank; Sriram Viswanathan, Managing Partner, IndusAge Partners; Ravi Saligram, CEO, Ritchie Bros.; Arjun Divecha, Partner, GMO; Mihir Parikh, Partner, Nishith Desai Associates.
