Brijesh Patel, Director at Indus Eco Partners, has spent years sitting at the intersection of Indian and German business, helping partners on both sides read each other correctly. A RETech member since the network’s early years, he has watched membership grow from a handful of active companies to over fifty members, and watched Indian interest in German circular economy expertise shift from curiosity to real implementation. Ahead of IFAT India, he shares what that shift looks like from inside the room.
What does it take to bridge Indian and German business?
My work has several layers. I connect people, align expectations, and translate not just language but business culture. I help Indian and German partners understand how the other side makes decisions, communicates, and sets technical and commercial expectations.
The goal is to build trust, create clarity, and turn good partnerships into successful business outcomes for everyone involved.
The assumption you had to unlearn?
For years, I assumed business decisions moved in a linear, structured way. German companies often expect a clear plan and a document-driven review process. In India, relationships, flexibility, and shifting circumstances shape how a deal develops.
Neither approach beats the other. What I learned to do is read the context: build trust, align expectations, and know when to hold structure and when to let it flex.
How has RETech changed since you first joined the network?
I have watched RETech shift from a network built mainly to promote German technology providers into a platform for international cooperation. The emphasis has moved from promoting technology to building partnerships and sharing experience from other developed markets.
The membership numbers tell the story. In 2015, we had three or four active members. Today we have more than 50 members. In India, early interest in German expertise has turned into implementation, not only in technology but in standards, quality, resource efficiency, and long-term sustainable solutions.
A trusted bridge to the right people..
Consulting runs on relationships, and RETech has become a trusted bridge to the right expertise for me. Day to day, the network helps me connect Indian stakeholders with reliable German technology providers, bring the right experts into a discussion, and build credibility on both sides of a deal.
What’s different about IFAT India this year?
Three years ago, I was mainly scanning IFAT India for technologies and companies that could find a place in the Indian market. This year, I’m watching for solutions that can be implemented at scale, where the conversation has moved from technology demonstration to performance, economics, local manufacturing, and long-term operation.
BioCBG generation from municipal waste stands out as one of the biggest opportunities to open up in India in recent years. I’m watching closely for which international solutions adapt successfully to India’s conditions and create measurable impact.
My advice for first-time IFAT India attendees…
If you’re walking into IFAT India for the first time, treat it as a platform for relationships, not just an exhibition floor. Identify the people you want to meet before you arrive, attend the technical sessions, and spend time understanding the Indian market and its challenges.
The real value is often in the conversations between meetings, where you discover potential partners, customers, and opportunities you wouldn’t find from the exhibition stands alone.
What would make this year’s IFAT India a win for you?
A real win goes beyond meetings booked. I want to see stronger cooperation between German agencies such as GIZ, KfW, and Agentur für Wirtschaft und Entwicklung, together with German technology companies, to develop a set of lighthouse projects in India. Demonstrated at scale, those projects could become models replicated across the country.
That’s what I’ll be working toward at IFAT India this year: turning conversations into projects that can be pointed to and repeated.
Meet Brijesh Patel and other RETech members at IFAT India. Visit RETech at the German Pavilion – Hall 3, CO21B.
