Narendra

[pic]

Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd.

problem and challenges faced

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His decision to enter the sugar industry in the late 90s was an unusual one coming as it did during the dotcom boom. In a little over a decade, Narendra Murkumbi has transformed Shree Renuka Sugars into India’s largest sugar company in terms of market capitalisation and revenue. 

Mr Murkumbi spoke to ET on his success recipe, his branding initiative, and how to make farmers millionaires... 

For someone with a management degree from IIM, it would have been easy when you started out to sign on with one of those blue chip firms. What prompted you to chart a different course? 

I was not keen to take the conventional career path. So, after completing my studies at IIM Ahmedabad in 1994, I neither participated in the placement process of our college nor did I apply for a job. My family was involved in trading activities in Belgaum, Karnataka and I decided to set up my own business. 

During my final year at IIM, I had worked on a business plan for pesticides. Shortly after completing my studies, I entered this business along with my mother. 

After running this business for a few years, I was keen to scale up my activities. The sugar sector had just started opening up in the Western belt of the country. So, I evaluated opportunities in this sector, especially considering that Karnataka and neighboring Maharashtra are key sugar producing areas. By 1998, I was ready with my plan and we started off by taking over a sick sugar co-operative. 

When you started off, you were not the only one; in fact there were quite a few entrenched sugar producers in the country. What were the challenges you encountered then? 

To begin with, we did not have enough of our own resources to fully fund the sugar business. Hence, a secondary funding...