Entrepreneurs’ Organization Launches Two New Chapters in India

Membership network continues its rapid growth in South Asia by welcoming EO North Karnataka and EO South Asia Platinum Bridge chapters to its global community

27 February 2024 (Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.) – The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) announces the launch of its two newest chapters: EO North Karnataka in southwest India and the South Asia Platinum Bridge chapter, a borderless community for highly-accomplished and experienced entrepreneurs in the region. Combined, the two newest chapters contribute to EO’s rapid rise in South Asia, where the World Bank has predicted a nearly 6% increase in economic activity this year, making it the fastest-growing region in the world.

EO’s 32nd chapter in India, EO North Karnataka was officially launched earlier this month with 25 founding members joining a welcome party at the Marriott Belagavi. Its founding member and president is Qais Noorani, CEO of Noorani Corbel Developers, a Real Estate Developer firm in Belagavi, India. The Chapter represents a diverse cross section of local business sectors, including manufacturing and retail.

In North Karnataka, the new EO members primarily speak Kannada and Marathi and work in and around the city of Belagavi, which is home to a culturally diverse mix of people from the neighboring states of Maharashtra and Goa.

EO North Karnataka members at launch event

The EO South Asia Platinum Bridge chapter is unique in that it unites tenured EO members and “elumni”, or those entrepreneurs who were previously members of EO but who may have exited their businesses or otherwise moved on.  First created in 2020, EO’s network of Bridge Chapters provides the same member value and leadership opportunities that local chapters do, but in a more regional and borderless way that is not limited to a specific local community. Bridge chapters hold in-person events two to four times annually.

The new South Asia Bridge Platinum chapter was launched in December as EO’s 12th Bridge Chapter in the world. It welcomed new or returning EO members who collectively bring an average of 15 years’ membership to the new community. Of these, 28 members now hold a dual EO chapter membership, and eleven members return to EO after a period away. New chapter president, Yash Poddar, a 24-year EO Kolkata member and dual chapter member, hosted the launch party at his home, where members enjoyed a performance from stand-up comedian Papa CJ.  Yash is also the managing director of RKBK, a petroleum company in Kolkata.

EO South Asia Platinum Bridge members at the chapter’s launch party

EO’s Senior Manager for Regional Chapters, Brian Sutcliffe, spoke highly of the new Bridge Chapter’s success in recruiting past EO members back into the community in a creative and attractive new way: “This launch marks an exciting next step for our Bridge chapter programme in its focus on connecting exceptionally accomplished business owners in a ‘platinum’ community. We hope that EO’s more tenured members will feel invigorated by connecting or reconnecting with some of their most successful peers in the South Asia region.”

EO’s Bridge chapters were first launched in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as businesses and societies migrated to a more virtual world. In EO, Bridge chapters are organized by region, including Asia Pacific, Canada, China, Europe, Japan and Korea, Latin America, Middle East, Pakistan, Africa, and the United States. However, the Platinum Bridge chapter is a pilot for tenured members and elumni only, marking the first-ever chapter of its kind.

“We are very encouraged by the strong growth of membership in EO across the South Asia region these past few years,” said Regional Director, Saakshi Tewari. “Combined, our chapters’ exceptional member retention rates and double-digit growth rates among new members have made this part of the world among EO’s fastest growing. We see this success as a direct result of the high member value EO offers not only to its members but by extension, to their families.”; EO’s first chapter in India was EO Bombay, which launched in 1997 and has today become the largest chapter in EO with 404 members.

“In South Asia, more than 40-percent of our current members have been active in EO’s community for 10 or more years”, said Prabhakar Kadavasal, Regional Chair for South Asia and a 13-year member of EO Chennai chapter himself. "By offering this Platinum Bridge experience, we are able to offer an attractive next step in tenured members’ natural progression along their EO journey.”During the last year, EO has launched four other chapters in Asia: EO Ibaraki and EO Hokkaido in Japan, and EO Surat and EO Ranchi in India.

The two newest chapters will continue to welcome membership applications from local business founders and owners who share EO’s values and have achieved a level of revenue that meets or exceeds US$1 million annually. For information, visit EO North Karnataka’s Instagram profile and South Asia Platinum Bridge’s website.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) is a diverse, professional, and high-quality network of more than 18,000 business founders and owners in 220 chapters across 75+ countries worldwide. Its purpose is to move the world forward by unlocking entrepreneurs' full potential, and it does this through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learning. Launched in 1987, EO has been helping entrepreneurs find community and achieve transformational growth together, guided by its core values of Trust and Respect, Thirst for Learning, Think Big be Bold, and Together we Grow. For more information or to get involved, follow us on Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and visit our website: www.eonetwork.org