Market Entry & Growth Strategy
We validate demand, define your go-to-market, and build a practical roadmap into India.
- Market validation
- Go-to-market choices
- Partner and supply chain strategy
- Practical entry roadmaps
Europe ⇄ India · Strategy to Execution
Turning your India strategy into reality.
Orange Sherpa helps European companies enter and grow in India by translating strategy into execution on the ground.
Not just defining the path — but walking it with you.
What we do
Strategy, deals, and operations — delivered on the ground.
We work alongside leadership teams to navigate the complexity of the Indian market, avoid common pitfalls, and build a local presence that delivers results. Whether you need strategic guidance, local execution support or transaction advice, Orange Sherpa accompanies you from first market exploration to lasting presence.
Execution Support On The Ground
We help you establish locally, open doors, and walk the path with you — and can step in as interim leadership to build or transform your presence in India.
- Local set-up guidance
- Partner and client introductions
- Commercial support
- Interim leadership support
M&A Advisory
We screen, scout, and support transactions that genuinely fit your strategy.
- Target screening
- Partner and acquisition scouting
- Strategic fit assessment
- Deal support
Strategy Workshops & Facilitation
We facilitate strategy sessions that sharpen your proposition and shape business models suited to Indian market dynamics.
- Facilitated strategy sessions
- Proposition sharpening
- Branding and positioning advisory
- Business model design
Also · India → Europe Netherlands as strategic gateway
Supporting Indian companies expanding into Europe
The same hands-on accompaniment applies in reverse.
We support Indian businesses entering European markets, using the Netherlands as a strategic gateway. From entity set-up and EU go-to-market strategy to practical support on the ground, we help turn European expansion plans into reality.
With hands-on knowledge of Dutch logistics infrastructure, regulatory frameworks and market-entry dynamics, we help build a practical and credible route into Europe.
How we work
Different ways to work with Orange Sherpa
Engagement models can be shaped around strategy, executive involvement, or transactions — and often a combination of the three.
Advisory
Shape the route
- Market entry strategy
- Growth planning
- Board-level sparring
For companies exploring or sharpening their India strategy.
Interim Leadership
Build and execute
- Local execution support
- Transformation leadership
- Interim MD / Country support
For companies needing experienced support on the ground.
Strategic Transactions
Support strategic transactions
- Target screening
- Due diligence support
- Partnership and deal support
For growth through partnerships or acquisitions.
Engagements may be project-based, interim mandates, retainers or transaction-linked.
Why Orange Sherpa
A guide, not a deck-maker.
We bring clarity, experience and determination to help you navigate and grow in India.
Focused
Clear direction, no consultancy fluff.
Trusted
Reliable partner on the ground who stays involved.
Creative
Finding better routes when the obvious ones don't work.
Persistent
We guide you to the top, step by step.
These values shape how we work, every day, with every client.
About Orange Sherpa
European rigour, Indian execution.
Orange Sherpa was founded on a simple belief: strategy without execution is just paper. Many European companies enter India with a sound plan, but lack a trusted partner to help make it real.
Today, it is easier than ever to build sophisticated market-entry models. AI tools produce impressive plans and Excel makes the numbers look convincing. But without experience on the ground, turning those plans into reality is hard.
That is where the idea of Orange Sherpa was born.
A Sherpa does not stay in base camp drawing the route. A Sherpa guides you while climbing the mountain. The value lies not only in knowing the path, but in helping others navigate it successfully.
That is how I see Orange Sherpa: helping European companies enter India by translating strategy into execution, with practical support on the ground.
Let me be your Sherpa on that journey.
Founder & Managing Partner
Rutger Bonsel
Founder & Managing Partner, Orange Sherpa
India
Mumbai
Boots on the ground.
Netherlands
Rotterdam
Gateway into Europe.
About Rutger
Bridging India and Europe, in both directions.
Over the past years, I have built my career around bridging local market realities in India with board-level expectations in Europe.
In my most recent leadership role, I helped transform an established Indian business — streamlining the organisation by 10% while growing topline performance by 15% within nine months. I led an M&A trajectory in India, screening over 80 potential targets, advancing two into full due diligence, and taking one through final negotiations. It gave me first-hand experience in how growth in India often combines organic expansion, partnerships, and acquisition.
Those outcomes reinforced something I have long believed: putting a plan on paper is one thing; executing it amid the daily operational realities of India is where leadership, adaptability and open communication truly matter.
My first exposure to India goes back to 2007, when DSM sent me to conduct field research among Indian farmers. It taught me early that progress comes through listening carefully, adapting to local circumstances, and applying a degree of jugaad when needed. That lesson has stayed with me ever since.
I bring that same mindset to building businesses: pragmatic, adaptive, and grounded in execution.
I hold a joint Executive MBA from Kellogg Northwestern (USA) and WHU (Germany), and an MSc in Industrial Design Engineering from Delft University of Technology. Over the years I have held leadership roles at the intersection of general management and commercial development across engineering, chemicals, industrial technology and supply chain — including DSM-Firmenich, Maire Tecnimont and, most recently, Broekman Logistics.
Let's talk
Ready to turn your India plan into action?
Book a 30-minute discovery call, or drop us a line. We respond within one business day.
Contact form and booking integration coming soon.