Kaushik Chandra, Founder & CAO, AtKonnectt

Kaushik Chandra is a seasoned Business and Executive Coach with over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, team building, and strategic planning. As the Founder & CAO of AtKonnectt Redefiningg Businesses, he has mentored numerous entrepreneurs and startups across India. A certified Business, Executive, and Life Coach from ActionCoach, he is also a licensed D.I.S.C practitioner. Kaushik believes that every business owner is a genius and helps them unlock their potential through customized strategies in sales, systems, and team development.

In a recent interaction with M R Yuvatha, Senior Correspondent at siliconindia, Kaushik Chandra shared his insights on ‘Re-education as a Catalyst for MSME Growth in the Modern Economy’.

Re-education is a key driver of MSME growth, enabling reskilling in emerging technologies, fostering entrepreneurship, and enhancing competitiveness. With government support, digital literacy initiatives, and industry-aligned training, MSMEs can innovate, generate employment, and contribute significantly to India’s economic development.

The Role of Late-Career Professionals in MSME Growth

Building on the importance of continuous learning, re-education is a subject that must remain ongoing. It holds particular significance when focused on programs tailored for late-career professionals transitioning into new professions later in life, typically in their 50s and beyond. These re-education programs must integrate skill development and capacity building, both of which have gained prominence in today’s market. Equally important, this process should be aligned with deep reflection and a strong commitment to social impact.

Mentorship is a form of hand-holding and is recognized as a critical pillar that goes beyond merely offering advice. It provides late-career professionals with practical support, validation of their experiences, and the confidence to navigate unfamiliar career paths after the age of 50. Mentorship can take various forms, including peer mentoring and collaborative exchanges between senior and junior professionals. A secure and inclusive approach is essential, especially when older professionals enter new domains. Reverse mentorship, where learning flows both ways, enriches this process. Coupled with impactful coaching, such mentorship significantly contributes to innovation and growth within the MSME research ecosystem.

The current economy is skill-first where the focus is no longer just on jobs, but on skills. It’s not just about having knowledge, but about acquiring the right skills. The emphasis is on rebranding first, then reskilling, as individuals transition into new domains. Previously gained knowledge becomes experience, and entering a new field requires renewal. Mid and late-career professionals must feel valued, empowered, and future-ready. Reflecting on a 32-year career shift, the process involved rebranding and reskilling not to catch up, but to level up closely aligning with the essence of mentorship.

Empowering Late-Career Leaders to Redesign the MSME Future

Continuing the reflection on mentorship, re-skilling, and purpose-driven transitions, entrepreneurship is seen as a purpose-driven act born from the desire to create something meaningful rather than follow an existing path. This form of entrepreneurship evolves with age, as individuals at different life stages perceive situations through varying lenses. Values, motivations, and risk appetites shift over time, younger entrepreneurs often embrace greater risks compared to their middle-aged or senior counterparts. Recognizing these differences is crucial to building a resilient and innovative MSME ecosystem.

Kaushik Chandra, Founder & CAO, AtKonnectt, says, “As a member of the SME Chamber of India, we place strong emphasis on integrating experience with fresh, next-generation perspectives. While young entrepreneurs drive global disruption, seasoned professionals focus on community development, knowledge-sharing, and social equity. Although the goals remain aligned, the approaches differ. When these perspectives converge, they create a powerful impact on the MSME ecosystem. Age-diverse teams excel in crisis navigation and ethical decision making by combining trust and wisdom with agility and bold action”.

Building on the importance of human-centered qualities in professional growth, emotional intelligence is emerging as a vital driver in shaping both individuals and entire generations. It plays a central role in building resilience and fostering ethical enterprises. Late-career professionals, often misjudged as latecomers, tend to possess more refined emotional intelligence due to their extensive experience, leadership exposure, and crisis-handling capabilities. This gives them a unique edge in decision-making and collaboration. Tools like DiSC help assess and enhance EI, enabling individuals to reflect before acting and focus beyond short-term goals. Such development fosters stronger team dynamics and lasting professional impact.

Entrepreneurship has no age bar. What truly matters is the energy, willingness to learn, and courage to embrace challenges.

The Rise of Rewired Entrepreneurs

Continuing the vision of fostering purposeful transitions, engaging late-career changemakers requires a fundamental shift in business education. Rather than relying on generic curricula, learning platforms must adopt product-based, instinct-driven, and experience-aware approaches. These individuals, having already navigated traditional systems, need education that is rooted in lived experiences. By drawing on decades of insights, such models both respect and retool their professional journeys. This approach aligns with AtKonnectt’s philosophy of redefining businesses underscoring that continuous reinvention is essential for late-career professionals to adapt, lead, and thrive in evolving systems.

The growing role of late-career professionals in the MSME sector, the current focus is on supporting over 5 crore MSMEs that contribute nearly 30% to India’s GDP and employ more than 1,200 lakh people. Empowering individuals in their 50s, 60s, or even 70s means redefining their career paths, showing that entrepreneurship has no age bar. What truly matters is the energy, willingness to learn, and courage to embrace challenges. This inclusion is not just a strategy it’s a transformational shift. By engaging senior professionals, the burden on pension systems is reduced, and GDP contribution is enhanced. These ‘rewinded professionals’ are actively contributing again. When MSMEs integrate such experienced talent, they become engines of inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

Also Read: Why Active Learning Will Define the Next Era of Corporate Training

Conclusion

Bringing late-career professionals into the mainstream structure and domain is one of the most impactful steps a country can take. These individuals typically in their 50s, 60s, or beyond not only remain actively engaged but also avoid becoming a burden, either to themselves or to others. Instead, they continue to feel purposeful and empowered, believing, 'I can still contribute, and I am contributing for as long as I am here'. This approach reinforces their sense of value while supporting economic and social inclusion.