Globsyn to set up AIFB in Ahmedabad

Given that almost 100 per cent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Gujarat are conventional family businesses, Kolkata-based Globysn Group believes the market lacks certain corporate governance and professionalism. In a bid to develop a more robust institutions, the education, training and infrastructure services group is setting up its Asian Institute of Family Business (AIFB) in Ahmedabad.

"Almost all the SMEs in Gujarat are family businesses who have stayed small. One of the reasons is that they are tight on corporate governance and financial disclosure. We believe there is huge potential for tapping such businesses and training them in becoming more professional and robust. We want to address all the problems that a family business faces. Therefore, we are setting up this Asian Institute of Family Business (AIFB) which will cater to the specific education and training needs of such units," said Bikram Dasgupta, chairman of Globsyn Group.

To come up by September 2009, the institute will be offering short term programs like succession planning in family business, sibling partnership and family constitution, varying from two days to three weeks span. Moreover, AIFB will also be offering a two year full time program in family business management and one year part time program on start-up management. For the one year program, the group intends to attract young working professionals who intend to set up new family businesses.

"We believe there is this new generation of youngsters who would have just joined or are in process of joining their family businesses. These youngsters can be trained in how to manage a typical family business. While several multi-national companies (MNCs) carry some good corporate governance practices, these family businesses tend to be rigid and averse to change. AIFB, through its programs, can bring a change in their attitude," Dasgupta said.

Over the next three years, the group is planning to make an initial investment of Rs 25-30 crore for the campus and other infrastructure. Moreover, Globsyn is also in talks with the Gujarat government for setting up skill development centres across the state. For this, the group will be investing around Rs 4-5 crore, Dasgupta added.

By 2010, the group also plans to launch a two-year post graduate diploma in international finance (PGDIF) at Globsyn Business School (GBS) in Ahmedabad. "We already are running our flagship post graduate program in management and intend to offer this new course in international finance. Roughly, we will be charging a fees of Rs six lakh for the program," Dasgupta said.