History is proof of the fact that businessmen of all times have always been on the lookout for unsaturated markets. For past two decades Bihar was nearly untouched, be it by business or by development. In the present scenario, it takes no special effort to realize the fact that Bihar has become one such place where immense opportunities lie for business. With the 2nd highest GDP growth among Indian states this financial year, Bihar has already shown its mettle how it can utilize improved infrastructure and better governance.

Bihar has majorly been an agro-based economy with various small-scale industries supplementing it. Due to its highly fertile land and desired climatic conditions, there are varieties of agricultural produce which are cultivated here. Bihar has significant levels of production for the vegetables like Brinjal, Cauliflower and Ladyfinger and fruits like Mango, Guava and Pineapple. Litchi and Makhana (Foxnut) are two such products, 70 percent of whose national produce is supplied by the state. These facts indicate that there is a need to integrate the rural producers of these to the mainstream economy using food processing technology. Sudha dairy is already a shining example of how rural produce like milk can be marketed well with the aid of proper food processing technology.

Apart from its highly fertile soil, Bihar is also blessed to have sweet water ponds in its Mithila belt. Fishes of these ponds are considered to be of the best quality in the world. If cultured scientifically to increase the production level, it has the potential to be marketed in the international market at a premium price. Similarly, sugarcane also finds its commercial application in Sugar and Ethanol production. It is an immediate economic opportunity and also contributes to the government’s green agenda.

On commercial front telecom is one such domain which foresees a huge market in Bihar. With the falling ARPUs , telecom companies are looking towards rural market for next wave of growth. To pull the rural customer, the information VAS (value added services) can also be a major factor. Already IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Ltd has created a platform to offer free daily voice updates on mandi prices, farming techniques, weather forecast, rural health initiatives and fertilizer availability etc.

With the lower strata getting economically active, micro-finance has emerged as an inclusive business enterprise to ensure easy access of the credit to them for their entrepreneurial and social empowerment. There are various Microfinance institutions(MFIs) coming up in the region ( e.g. Saija, Bandhan, SKS just to name a few)and they are expected to be the propeller of much important inclusive and sustainable growth of the region.

Bihar is the next frontier for businesses in India both as an Investment destination and untapped market. Its high time that business enterprises take a leaf out of CK Prahlad’s theory of ‘fortune at bottom of pyramid’ and invest in land of boundless opportunities.

(This post has been written by Neelanjan Sinha, a ‘guest-strater’ – (a guest author on strat.in). Neelanjan is a 1st year management student at the Chandragupt Institute Of Management, Patna. Strat.in thanks Neelanjan for sharing his insights with our reader and looks forward to more from Neelanjan in future)

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