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Over Coffee in Guwahati, Assam’s Founders Set Out to Build the Northeast’s Next Growth Story
GAMSME and Vantage Circle launch The Founders’ Coffee Circle, a candid forum to turn the region’s entrepreneurial energy into real market access and policy change.
Guwahati, June 13, 2026: Some of Assam’s most ambitious founders traded their desks for a coffee table this week. The Global Association of MSMEs (GAMSME), in partnership with Vantage Circle, hosted ‘The Founders’ Coffee Circle’ in Guwahati on June 13, 2026, bringing together entrepreneurs, innovators, and ecosystem builders from across the state for a frank conversation about what it really takes to grow a business in Northeast India.
The room reflected the full breadth of Assam’s economy. Founders from tourism, eco-friendly products, education, trade, packaging, FMCG, and IT shared the same table, swapping hard-won lessons and looking for ways to build together. The plan is for The Founders’ Coffee Circle to become a regular fixture, a trusted space where entrepreneurial voices are heard, where those insights shape policy, and where the Northeast steadily builds a more resilient and future-ready economy.
The stakes are high. MSMEs power nearly 30 per cent of India’s GDP and almost 45 per cent of its exports, yet enterprises in the Northeast keep running into the same walls: limited access to finance, broken market linkages, tangled regulation, and a thin talent pipeline. The Founders’ Coffee Circle was built to take these barriers on directly, through collective problem-solving and shared leadership rather than isolated effort.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Abhijit Sharma, Founder of the Global Association of MSMEs, highlighted, “For too long, the Northeast’s entrepreneurs have been told to look outward for opportunity. The talent, the resources, and the ambition are already here. Our job is to connect them. GAMSME was built so that no founder in this region has to grow alone, and The Founders’ Coffee Circle is where that work begins, one honest conversation at a time.”
Mr. Anjan Pathak, CTO and Co-founder of Vantage Circle, quoted, “We built a global company out of Guwahati without leaving the Northeast, and that proved the region has both the talent and the ambition to compete globally. What’s often missing is the connection between founders, institutions, and markets. The Founders’ Coffee Circle is that connection, and we’re proud to partner with GAMSME to turn these conversations into a real roadmap for the region’s MSMEs.”
The discussions and recommendations generated during the exercise will be compiled into a Summary Report, which GAMSME will carry forward into evidence-based advocacy with government agencies and other stakeholders. The aim is simple: turn a single morning of conversation into a working roadmap for removing growth barriers and strengthening the MSME ecosystem across the Northeast.
About the Global Association of MSMEs:
The Global Association of MSMEs exists for one reason. Micro, small, and medium enterprises drive India’s jobs, innovation, and growth, yet too often face limited finance, fragmented support, weak market links, and little institutional guidance. GAMSME was created to close that gap.
About Vantage Circle:
Vantage Circle is a global employee recognition and wellness platform trusted by over 3.2 million users across 700+ clients worldwide, including Wipro, Infosys, Bosch, Wells Fargo, and Tata Group companies. Over 12 years, it has empowered HR leaders to drive productive workplace behaviours through targeted recognition, personalised rewards, and holistic wellness solutions. Available in 16+ languages with localised rewards across 100+ countries, the platform integrates seamlessly with tools like MS Teams and Slack. Visit vantagecircle.com to learn more.