From bazaars to boardrooms: The enduring spirit of Indian enterprise

India is not merely a land of entrepreneurs; it is a civilization built upon the very principles of enterprise.

- Malika Pandey

India is not merely a land of entrepreneurs; it is a civilization built upon the very principles of enterprise. Long before the advent of stock markets and venture capital, the subcontinent was home to thriving commercial ecosystems, seamlessly integrating philosophy with pragmatism. The Maurya and Gupta periods, widely celebrated as the golden ages, were marked by flourishing trade routes, the rise of influential merchant guilds, and bustling urban centers like Pataliputra and Ujjain. These were not just empires of territory but of enterprise, where commerce was institutionalized through robust infrastructure and administrative foresight, embedding trade into the very fabric of governance.

This deep-seated culture of business did not wane with time; it evolved. In early modern India, long before startups found homes in glass towers and co-working spaces, Indian traders operated expansive networks powered by trust, speed, and sophistication. They built informal yet remarkably effective systems of credit, logistics, and pricing that connected the ports of Mocha, the courts of Isfahan, and the markets of Canton to India's heartland. Figures like Shantidas Jhaveri, who financed royalty while negotiating with European firms, and Virji Vora, the Surat-based trader who could sway market dynamics across continents, were not anomalies. They were embodiments of a civilization where enterprise was intuitive, expansive, and deeply aspirational. Their currency was credibility, their engine was ingenuity, and their compass was in demand.