Harsh Mariwala, who has steered Marico to grow in sales from Rs. 40 lac in 1971 to Rs. 4,000 crore today, has launched a foundation - ASCENT (short for Accelerating the SCaling up of ENTerprises) - that will identify entrepreneurs with potential and enable them in their growth journey.
ASCENT offers a unique and powerful ”self-help” platform through the formation of TRUST GROUPS of 10 Entrepreneurs each. Each Trust Group will comprise non-competitive, diverse groups of entrepreneurs. We aim to start with 10 TRUST groups in Mumbai and Pune, and over the next few years scale up ASCENT to a much larger size pan-India.
The interaction in the Trust Groups has been designed to provide value to entrepreneurs, using the power of learning in a Group, specifically through the following:
· Facilitation – ASCENT will provide experts who will play a value adding role as Initiators and Trainers for the Group in its first few months and set it up for success.
· Group Moderation - ASCENT will select Moderators from within the group and train them in facilitation, so that the Group can run successfully on its own.
· Insights - ASCENT Knowledge Partners - inspiring role Models and domain experts - will add specific insights and value to each group through their sessions.
· Eco-system - ASCENT will provide access to growth enablers - Consultants, Investors, VCs, banks, Mentors, Coaches-in collaboration with various Service Providers.
Ascen tis currently in the process of selecting entrepreneurs for Ascent Trust Groups. The eligibility criteria are as under.
· Minimum Annual turnover - Rs. 2.50 cr for a Products/Manufacturing business, & Rs. 50 lacs for a Services business
· Growth Potential - Business must have demonstrated high potential for growth
· Ambition- the Entrepreneur must be ambitious and innovative.
· Belief in the power of learning and Sharing - The Entrepreneur must be eager to learn, share, collaborate and innovate along with fellow- ASCENT members
Application forms are available online on www.ascentfoundation.in.
You can join SCENT and support this growth movement through the following:
· Spot entrepreneurs and recommend Ascent to them. If you have access to an existing network of entrepreneurs, connect them to ASCENT.
· Spread the word around about Ascent. Help us increase the outreach so that we can help more and more entrepreneurs grow.
· Suggest Knowledge Partners and Service Provides for Ascent. Share any thoughts / ideas that can contribute to Ascent.
Ascent is a non-profit entity expression of Harsh Mariwala's personal social responsibility towards entrepreneurs. Harsh Mariwala bears all expenses for ASCENT personally.
Interested Entrepreneurs, can APPLY online on
For any clarifications, please contact:
Viral Savla
Manager, Ascent
+91 98215 70230
viral@ascentfoundation.in