Q&A: Keshav Murugesh, Chairman, Students in Free Enterprise

SIFE needs more sponsors to drive this model

With corporations across the globe in the race to enhance their shareholders value and also get involved in corporate social responsibility, there is an increasing need to nurture next generation leaders to create a better and more sustainable world through the positive power of business. Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), an international non-profit organisation, has been attempting this for the past few years. Keshav Murugesh, Group CEO of WNS Global Services, and Chairman of SIFE, talks Raghuvir Badrinath on SIFE India operations. Edited excerpts:

What was the need to find SIFE?
I was a part of the senior leadership in an organisation when the concept of SIFE was introduced to me. Part of my role in the organisation was to constantly speak about a sustainable growth model. Most of the time, I would be challenged thinking about what was going to be different in the future. It was at such a juncture in my life that the importance of student power and the incredible connect that can be built between students and corporate houses, was introduced to me. For years, I saw we as citizens had become complacent about corruption, nepotism, poor leadership standards, low ethical morals and a disregard for the environment. The only way to deal with this was to engage the youth of India in a programme that had the potential to build leadership, entrepreneurship, high ethical standards, concern for the environment and financial literacy.

What is making more colleges join you?
SIFE’s approach towards community development is a practical one. It’s designed to spur innovation, so more and more colleges are joining the programme. Introduced in 2003, SIFE India has since expanded rapidly, attracting top talent from over 60 universities. A big achievement for us this year has been that the SIFE India Programme is now being offered as a credit course in some colleges. The growth is not just in terms of increase in the number of colleges, but also major corporate houses, whose executives mentor SIFE students. Today, we have leading companies coming forward, who willingly associate with the mission of SIFE and lend their support to the cause. Recently, Hillary Clinton adopted SIFE as one of the programmes to support, when she saw the impact it had created globally.