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Rockville, MD -- Today Montgomery County, Tomorrow the World” could well be the economic slogan of Dr. Pradeep Ganguly, the brains behind County Executive Isaiah Leggett’s initiative for a “Smart Montgomery.”

As Montgomery County’s Director of Department of Economic Development, Ganguly said partnerships with the local business community and with Asian countries and the county is the key to future economic profitability. In April, Ganguly led a trade mission to India. Locally, he has also started and sustained “microenterprise” programs to enhance business partnerships with small, minority and female-owned businesses.

Ganguly said he hopes Montgomery County can expand partnerships with life sciences and advanced technology businesses overseas. He has made the first steps by opening talks with several start-up groups and entrepreneurs in India. Leaders in these cities have taken notice. The governor of one of the wealthiest states in India, Haryana, invited Montgomery College and Ganguly in April to introduce the concept of community colleges to his city. Ganguly said he used the opportunity to scope out potential business partners for the county.

“We saw that India, and several other Asian countries, lack the concept of a community college,” Ganguly said. “The community college could give workers a skill that’s immediately applicable in a commercial venture.”

“The Haryana government plans to build a community college on prime land and is asking Montgomery College to take over,” he explained. “Opening an office is a long- term commitment of human and financial resources. It sends a signal that Montgomery County has a lot of money, and they would like to put all the money here.”

While India lacks state-funded community colleges, several business leaders have taken the initiative to open training schools for their employees. India’s largest steel company, Jindal, opened their own two-year technical institute because it found that their workers were not adequately trained for their job in the past.

On August 7, the Economic Department plans to partner with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the largest chamber of commerce in India; the State Bank of India; the U.S. Dept. of Commerce; and the University of Maryland graduate program to identify a short list of companies to attract to Montgomery County.

Ganguly signed a memorandum of understanding with the Governor of Haryana, India, which will culminate in a County Executive-led business delegation to India later this year. The goal: Attract large Indian companies to locate their U.S. operations in Montgomery County, and for wealthy Indian businesses to invest locally.

County’s assets

Life sciences and advanced technology businesses play an integral role in Montgomery County’s revenue, according to Ganguly. His team has focused much of their energies on developing such companies.

“They are our bread and butter,” he said. “If you look at our county’s assets, you will find that we have the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institute for Science and Technology (NIST) and many other large biotechnology or pharmaceutical life science hubs.”

“We made a commitment to go to all ground-breaking events, expansion events,” Ganguly said. “We recently attended the Chinese biopharmaceutical conference in Rockville because we wanted to be a bigger player in this field.”

In an interview with Asian Fortune, Ganguly stressed his dedication to Asian-owned businesses, which comprise of over 11,000 companies in the county. As a first-generation Indian American, Ganguly said he identifies with immigrants like himself, who have worked their way up in the business world.

“Our focus is going to be reaching out to those segments of the community that have not been a full players in the economic engine, and to engage them and create opportunities for them,” Ganguly said. “One of the County Executive’s priorities is to enhance the programs and services to the Asian American business community. We are making the table larger to include all of our businesses.”

Ganguly’s team currently serves as a “development engine” in the wealthiest and the largest jurisdiction in Maryland. He currently employs a working team of fellow economists, financial planners, publicists and other government workers to coach nascent, start-up companies as they establish themselves.

Developing Businesses

Ganguly’s team also organized the Montgomery County Business Incubator Network, or incubator sites that serve as office and lab spaces where these companies can set up a home base and access direct support from the local government. The incubators provide free access to common area spaces, such as conference rooms and cafeterias, while also opening doors to financial assistance and other resources.

In June, the county executive celebrated the opening of the county’s fourth business incubator, the Rockville Innovation Center.

“It’s a great day in Montgomery County when you can celebrate the opening of a brand new facility designed to help young businesses grow and succeed and, at the same time, celebrate the achievement of that success by nine companies graduating for our Business Incubator Network, as well,” said Leggett, in a June statement. “Ultimately their success is our success, and my administration is committed to ensuring the success of all businesses.”

Since the opening of the county’s first incubator facility, the Maryland Technology Development Center (MTDC) in 2000, has graduated more than 40 companies that have created about 1,700 jobs and occupy nearly 500,000 square feet of commercial office space, according to the Department of Economic Development.

Ganguly’s department also serves as a bridge between the county executive’s office and a number of key business networks, such as the Asian Chamber of Commerce, Maryland-China Business Council, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Indian Industry-DC, among others. He also started a Local Small Business Reserve Program, or one-on-one and chamber meetings geared toward Asian-owned businesses.

Kristina Ellis, spokeswoman for the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, said it best as she explained her department’s dedication to their international partnerships.

“It’s worth it to know that you helped turn someone’s idea into a reality,” she said. “You are helping someone achieve that American dream, which is actually the human dream. We all want to do well. The county executive once told us that he grew up very poor; he was one of 12 or 13 kids, but he was able to achieve his (current station) through his desire to learn. There’s no reason why anyone shouldn’t achieve the same thing, especially for the next generation.”

Q & A excerpts

Below are excerpts of Ganguly ‘s interview with Asian Fortune.

What is your message to the Asian American business community?

It is the County Executive’s vision to enhance the programs and services to the Asian American business community. We seek to make the table larger to include all of our business and ethnic partners. DED’s mission and goal is to implement that vision. We have already established the new Division of Business Empowerment, which will help us focus on Asian and other minority and women-owned businesses.

What companies based in India have signed agreements to do business with the county? To date, we have finalized a deal with Cardiomed, which has been accepted in our Maryland Technology Development Center. The company will be moving in August, 2007. In addition, we are in negotiations with several firms that I met with while I was in India, in April of this year, but at the moment I’m not at liberty to elaborate.

What fields of business are they in? Ex: IT, bio-technology, etc.

Information Technology and business solutions, medical devices, e-learning, home textiles.

What trade agreements or Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) were signed? What were the terms of the agreements? On behalf of the County, I signed a declaration of cooperation with the State of Haryana. The document commits the two jurisdictions to pursuing joint business activities in trade, tourism, life sciences and education that enhance the economic well-being of Montgomery County, and the State of Haryana, and their respective citizens.

How much will these partnerships with India-based companies generate/bring to the county? We expect that these will lead to business visits, site selection, and company operation in Montgomery County. These will lead to job creation and an expansion of our tax base. In addition, we will add strong international companies in our business community.

Are there future plans to have a trade mission in other countries in Asia? Yes, we are planning a business mission to China in 2008.

Before your trip to India, what Asian countries and Asian American companies did the county already have an existing partnership with? A Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Chungbuk Province of Korea in 2004 to forge economic partnerships. This MOU involves staff exchanges, business partnering and joint capital projects designed to meet the economic development needs of both parties.

You are an outstanding role model for the immigrant community, especially the Asian American community. What message do you have for young Asian Americans?

I would like to urge young Asian Americans to seek entrepreneurial opportunities. Asian Americans are highly successful professionally. However, they have not come together as a group powerful enough to influence policy decisions. Instead of chasing political appointees to get their voices heard, Asian Americans need to emerge as a group with access to capital and opportunities. One way to achieve this is to encourage entrepreneurship among young people and help them grow their business ventures.