Social Enterprise at IIM Calcutta in India with TATA | Dowser

Social Enterprise at IIM Calcutta in India with TATA

Here’s an opportunity for aspiring social entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas (or newly-established companies). From time to time, Dowser will help spread the world about different contests and resources that can help entrepreneurs make the leap from idea to action! After all, we are devoted to solutions journalism.

The Tata Group, in partnership with the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC), has launched the ‘Tata Social Enterprise Challenge’, a quest to find India’s most promising social enterprises. The endeavour of the challenge is to create an ecosystem for social entrepreneurship and encourage sustainable, scalable and measurable social impact.

Teams who either have an early stage venture (not older than 3 years) or a promising idea with a plan, that can create sustainable social impact, can submit their business plans online, by logging onto www.tatasechallenge.org. The applicants may or may not be Indian nationals; however, the social venture should be aimed at creating social impact in India. The ventures will be judged on three parameters – Business Model, Social Impact and Sustainability. There is no restriction on the business model, and it can be for-profit, not-for-profit or even hybrid, but it necessarily is required to demonstrate significant social impact through results or proof of concept. Impact Proposals (detailed Business Plans) are invited in the areas of education, health, agriculture, energy, technology, housing, handicrafts and microfinance, amongst others. The last day to submit the Impact Proposal online is January 20^th, 2013. The challenge also invites people to nominate, through the initiative’s website, social enterprises they know.

The Challenge will have three rounds.

1. Round 1 – Teams will need to submit Impact Proposals online in the format specified.
2. Semi-final Round – A maximum of twenty teams selected from Round 1 will go through a 3-week mentorship program that includes mentorship at the IIM Calcutta campus. These teams will pitch to a panel of esteemed judges consisting of Social Venture Capitalists, Social Entrepreneurs, Tata leaders and faculty from IIM Calcutta.
3. The Grand Finale – From the semi-finalists, a maximum of ten teams will be selected for the Grand Finale. These teams will pitch to a panel of judges, consisting of Business Leaders from Tata Group, CEOs/Founders of Social VC funds, Social Entrepreneurs and faculty from IIM Calcutta.

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