Description
Quercus Group is a niche strategic and hands-on
consultancy firm founded in Copenhagen in 2012. The
firm specializes in regional sustainable development and growth through cluster development and cross-border collaborations.
From offices in Denmark and Kenya Quercus Group has provided consultancy and advisory services within the smart city and green growth domains for the past five years. Continuing its growth strategy, Quercus Group will now open its 2nd International office, this time in India. The office is located in Gurugram in the National Capital Region of India, and opened on the 1st of September 2017. The decision to open an Indian office comes on the back of a string of engagements in several projects in the country. Notably, Quercus Group is currently the only Danish consultancy that has been empanelled by an Indian state, i.e the state of Himachal Pradesh. This empanelment is an official recognition that Quercus Group as a preferred advisor to the state and pre-qualifying it for invited bidding. Currently, Quercus Group is advising Himachal Pradesh on implementing a municipal solid waste management action plan and plans to bag similar assignments in other Indian states. Quercus Group Partner, Neelabh Singh explains, “India is an exciting market for us, given India’s recent focus on smart cities, urbanisation and the need for multistakeholder engagement in a layered ecosystem. Coming from Denmark, these are precisely our strengths and we believe that there are tremendous complementarities here. We are excited to be empanelled by Himachal Pradesh, and are committed in supporting smart and sustainable urban development in India”. He continues: “We believe that a multi-stakeholder approach to city development is essential to tackle the challenge of rapid urbanisation such as traffic congestion, energy and water scarcity, climate adaptation, and not least ensure liveability”. Quercus Group is already recognised as a leading smart city and green growth advisor and despite its young age, worked with clients and multi-stakeholder projects in more than 25 countries in North America, Asia, Europe and East Africa. “Publicprivate collaboration, living labs and capacity building training modules will be essential for India to innovate new solutions and implement impactful projects within smart cities and urbanisation. We feel very equipped to provide these competencies to the Indian market after successfully doing so in Singapore” according to Bettina Yanling Tan Fjældhøj, partner and lead on Smart Cities in Quercus Group. Siddhartha Choudhury takes over the role as Country Manager (India) and joins Quercus Group from IL&FS, one of India’s largest infrastructure companies.