The long and much-awaited second edition of BW Businessworld Young Entrepreneur Awards will be held in Delhi where BW along with Grant Thornton and a high power jury will recognise the winners of the burgeoning startup ecosystem in two categories: 0-3 years and 3-7 years. So if you think you want to be a part of this prestigious award function, please do send in your applications soonest. Please visit our website (www.businessworld.in) for details of the nominations process that has been prepared by Grant Thornton.
A jury comprising the finest minds across diverse sectors will announce the final winners. The names of the jury members are as follows: Rahul Bhasin (managing partner and managing director, Baring Private Equity Partners), Sudhir Variyar (founding partner, Multiples Private Equity), Pallavi Shroff (managing partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas), Bala Deshpande (senior managing director, New Enterprise Associates), Mohandas Pai (investor and former HR head, Infosys), K. Ganesh (serial entrepreneur, partner, GrowthStory and chairman, Portea Medical) and Kunal Shah (founder & CEO, FreeCharge). The jury meeting will take place in the second half of August.
Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog and the architect of initiatives such as Make in India and Startup India will be present at the award ceremony.
All applications will go through a multi-tier evaluation process which is being managed by Grant Thornton. Each nomination will go through a screening process to check the eligibility and authenticity of information and documents submitted. Parameters that will be taken into account include business idea and model, long-term potential, social impact, leadership team, role of the entrepreneur, source of funding and year-on-year profit and growth and so on, to shortlist the finalists.
Small is BeautifulThe startup community in India has undergone a massive makeover over the past year paving the way for a large number of young, budding entrepreneurs to come forward and join the domestic consumption story. In a country like India, startups and entrepreneurship are the only solutions to growth challenges and job creation going forward.
“India is best positioned to capitalise on the entrepreneurship opportunity with the advent of the latest emerging technologies that help Indian professionals to play on the global stage with our technology skills, language advantage, large domestic market, ability to develop very cost-effective solutions for the price-sensitive consumer and a population that is wide and diverse from a social, economic and geographic location standpoint,” says Ganesh.
Echoing the same sentiment, Pai says: “India has a large and robust startup ecosystem with over 20,000 emerging businesses and 350,000 people employed. The government’s Startup India will accelerate the emerging businesses in a big way.”
Government PushThe government too is doing its bit to promote entrepreneurship in the country. In fact, during Narendra Modi’s visit to the US last year, this was one of the focal points when he attended the India-US Startup Konnect 2015 exposition, a first of its kind initiative, where India showcased the strengths of its startup ecosystem. .
paramita@businessworld.in
BW Reporters
Over 14 years in journalism, I cover corporate sectors and write on M&A, private equity, venture capital and healthcare. I also play the role of an editorial lead for proprietary events like BW Healthcare Awards and BW Young Entrepreneur Awards. I am also a guest faculty at The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (Dhenkenal). Prior to BW Businessworld, I have had stints with Forbes India, The Economic Times, India Today and The Indian Express. When not working, I love travelling and discovering new places - soaking in new culture, food and people. I also like to spend time with my fawn Labrador.
