Indus Valley Times

By Payal Banarjee

Sambalpur: Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur, in collaboration with Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, organised a workshop under the newly launched AI4Odisha initiative aimed at promoting the adoption of Artificial Intelligence among MSMEs, traders and entrepreneurs. The workshop, titled “AI for Business Growth: From Local Markets to National Reach,” was virtually inaugurated by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Focused on practical AI adoption, the workshop sought to help small businesses leverage emerging technologies for sustainable growth, operational efficiency and enhanced competitiveness at the national level. More than 350 delegates representing industries and businesses from western Odisha participated in the programme.

Apart from Dharmendra Pradhan, the event was attended by Prof. Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director of IIM Sambalpur; Prof. Bharat Bhasker, Director of IIM Ahmedabad; Ms. Ankur Sohanpal, Founder Learning, IIMA Ventures; and Mr. Gopal Shah, Ideator, AI4Odisha Ecosystem Partner. Industry experts including Mr. Shankar RNS from Zoho Corporation, representatives from Anthropic and Google, Ms. Shruti Bijawat, Business Unit Head at Microsoft, Mr. Harshit Thaker, Co-Founder and CEO of Berrywise, and Mr. Amish Thaker, Founder and CEO of Visity, also participated in the sessions.

In his inaugural address, Dharmendra Pradhan said the workshop was an important initiative to strengthen India’s MSME sector through Artificial Intelligence. He noted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AI is helping entrepreneurs across urban and rural India improve productivity, expand market access and achieve sustainable growth. He added that such initiatives would contribute significantly towards building an inclusive and technology-driven Viksit Bharat.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Mahadeo Jaiswal highlighted the crucial role of MSMEs in India’s economy, stating that the sector contributes nearly 30 per cent to the country’s GDP and generates around 67 per cent employment. He said Artificial Intelligence would become a transformative force for small businesses by enabling smarter customer assessment, better engagement and efficient supplier management. He also reaffirmed the commitment of IIM Sambalpur and IIM Ahmedabad towards nurturing entrepreneurs with future-ready knowledge and tools.

Prof. Bharat Bhasker emphasised that the workshop had been designed with a practical approach to help MSMEs integrate AI into their day-to-day operations. He said AI tools could support entrepreneurs in identifying new customers, analysing consumer behaviour, improving repeat customer engagement and streamlining business operations.

Participants also attended hands-on training sessions conducted by leading AI platforms to understand practical applications of Artificial Intelligence in areas such as marketing, customer management, workflow optimisation and decision-making. The AI4Odisha initiative reflects the joint commitment of IIM Sambalpur and IIM Ahmedabad to build inclusive, technology-enabled entrepreneurial ecosystems across Tier-II and Tier-III cities, enabling local businesses and MSMEs to thrive in the digital economy.