Mumbai-based entrepreneurs get invited by US President Obama for a summit at Stanford University

In what marks a new start for the Indian agriculture industry a group of seven young entrepreneurs from Mumbai have been invited on behalf of President Barack Obama and The White House for a panel discussion at Stanford University in Palo Alto California on 23rd and 24th JuneBarack Obama PicAFPTheir company BOHECO Bombay Hemp Company which deals with the multipurpose hemp plant and its commercial and industrial uses had been chosen as one of roughly 1015 IndianAmerican Indian companies to attend the 7th Annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit Sanvar Oberoi CoFounder and Director of Finance and Digital Technology Bombay Hemp Company BOHECO will be representing BOHECO at the Summit that commences tomorrow and will also be one of four panellists at a panel discussion moderated by heather Grady VPRockefeller Philanthropy AdvisorsThe summit in itself demonstrates President Obamas longstanding support for entrepreneurship and his call to action to generate new investment in entrepreneurs around the world and will illuminate how impact investment can drive more capital into sectors that help achieve Sustainable Development Goals SDGs The session will be an interactive discussion that aims to catalyze new commitments and partnerships for action in 2016 and beyondIm going to talk about the BOHECO Model and the underlying economics as well as our approach to solve the root cause of several problems of Indian agriculture rather than each individual problem at surface level itself with the aim to cause systemic change said Oberoi 25 Instead of looking at Indian agriculture as a hotbed for legacy problems that have persisted through the ages BOHECO looks at each crop as a goldmine of opportunity in terms of RampDEarlier in May Sanvar had given a talk at Stanford about how India could be the next base for agriculture globally where all the material that is used for research in the Silicon Valley can come from the fields in India We didnt think anything would come out if it to be honest said Yash Kotak 25 Director of Project and Quality management BOHECO This is their the USAs version of Startup India and for an agricultural company like us to be a part of this global recognition amidst techdriven companies that are primarily based out of the Valley made us feel elatedA proud feelingFor us to be among the Olas and Ubers of the world it is definitely a proud feeling said Chirag Tekchandaney Director of Marketing amp Human Resources We want to take back as much as we can from this summit because even we as a company are going to create something that is going to be a revolutionary product We want to see how we can adopt the things they Uber and Ola got right in penetrating global massesThis is just the beginning we are just getting started said Kotak adding that their presence at this summit was more of a learning curve for them Its not about what crop we are growing and what we are doing with it but about how we are working this crop and the impact that it can create even on the lowest strata of society he saidWere a core RampD and detailed regulation abiding organisation so being the first company in the industrial hemp domain working to build the entire platform from though leadership to large scale manufacturing and market creation is a long drawn process pointed out Oberoi Were in it for the long haul and so were patient Only our work and numbers will build the real impressionBOHECO was started on 19 January 2013 by seven individuals Yash P Kotak Jahan Pestonjamas Sanvar Oberoi Sumit Shah Chirag Tekchandaney Avnish Pandya and Delzaad Deolaliwala