So how do we approach this whole discussion? Coimbatore needs a purpose, vision, and a rallying call. Nxt started with three things.

1. There was a need to understand the aspirations of the city.
2. What momentum is in place. What are the strengths already in existence.
3. Given these two, what does the city want to do. How does the city close the gap between today’s achievements and what it plans to do.

The real potential of the city is how we bridge that gap. And to do that, the city needs to build on present momentum, leverage existing strengths and take incre4mental moves to capitalise on what the city has. Build on strengths and welcome new investments and opportunities.

The question now arises- what moves should the city make? How do we take the plan forward? What are the areas that the city should be focussing on?

This kind of envisioning exercise works when you benchmark yourself. Analysing and understanding this better has taken 15-16 months, to make sure, to study reports, discussions with companies to understand how to take this forward. Because it is easy to have a vision. What’s also important is to have a structure, a rhythm around it.

What are the best people in the business doing? What are the best cities in the world doing? This was part of the vision the movement envisaged. This gave an idea of what propels these cities, what works for these cities to get them where they are today.

There is a practicality to the entire exercise too. A city in India cannot and should not compare itself to one in Canada, for example. We need to look at people closer to the city, understand the competition at the city’s level. As a result, Coimbatore’s peers, other Tier II cities were studied. This decides if you’re going to get that rupee of investment or talent, if the companies businesses in the city are bolstered with the right infrastructure for growth.

The report from Savills gave the city some good news. Coimbatore figures in the top short list of all four parameters- infrastructure, human capital, costs, and industry. So the city has the base. How does it go about realising potential? The vision defines every action the city takes. This mission is what we call Nxt mission. It reimagines the economic potential of the region to make it one of Asia’s fastest growing economies, through inclusivity and sustainable growth. This is the overarching vision, the North Star of the Coimbatore Next mission.

The structure is important. It needs milestones. There are three pillars to this.

1. Visibility
2. Growth
3. Advocacy

Visibility came as a surprise to many people. For those who live in the city, Coimbatore is the centre of the universe, a place of stay and study and work. But consultants and conglomerates that want to invest do not consider Coimbatore as a top destination. This means the city is not been projected as it needs to be. And the research stated that Coimbatore was a tier-II city, largely regional language speaking, not too big on top-tier social media apps. This needs to change. People need to know what the city is and what its potential is.

How do we define what is growth to a Coimbatore business? Can a Coimbatore business be considered successful if it grows faster than the industry and have a major market share? Or if they are leading the sector? Can we consider the sector to be successful in Coimbatore if it has taken roots in Coimbatore if we have a minimum number of companies in the sector? It is important to establish metrics.

Advocacy is a key point in the entire exercise as well. Nothing is possible if the powers that be, elected members, government officials etc. do not come together to help in this venture. This movement will help put Coimbatore on the map, to put in place framework, including that for innovation. This will help companies reach the very top.

This initiative has to run for five to ten years, and should have enough fuel to last in this journey. This needs the best people to be a part of the city. A steering committee is in place that will guide us. An executive committee will roll out activities. This is a CI initiative but it’s not proprietary. Every person needs to be a part of it. Corporates, SMEs everyone should come together to help us do this.  Nxt is inclusive- academia, students, individuals- everyone is part of this journey.

All this pivots on a five-point agenda.

1. Local business need to scale. They need to go beyond this artificial ceiling they seem to hit. Why does it happen? How do we prevent it? How do we create value-added revenue streams?
2. Build businesses. Coimbatore has a rich tradition of entrepreneurship. Do they get all the possible avenues for growth? How can they be helped to go to the next level? The industry to startup connect is a huge part of the Nxt process. Students who come to study in the city seldom want to work here because they do not see opportunity for growth. How do we change this? If Coimbatore is a great place to hire talent from, why aren’t we able to retain the talent?
3. Attract investments. Coimbatore is far, far lower than many tier II cities. FDI is not even a drop in the ocean, compared to our capabilities.
4. Promote Coimbatore. Are we doing a good enough job talking about the region? The city’s strengths? Is the identity being leveraged?
5. Enhance liveability. Growth should not come at the cost of liveability. ESG Goals, and inclusivity, among others should be intrinsically tied into growth.

Companies need to live their values, mission, and vision. Coimbatore Nxt wants to put a team in place to envision plans for a business. It’s called what why and how Coimbatore Nxt can help. A template has been created to show how easy it is to put an actionable plan in place. The why in the business is crucial.

Coimbatore can lead the way to ‘TN 1 Trillion.’ Apart from Chennai, Coimbatore can work magic towards this goal. If it does not step up to the plate, this vision may not happen.

This is why Coimbatore is audacity. It’s important to be a believer in Coimbatore Nxt. Be audacious. Ask how you can help in this. Work together to make Coimbatore Nxt a success.