IIM Calcutta Innovation Park & TATA Group inaugurates 8th Edition of TATA Social Enterprise Challenge

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 2: Indian Institute of Management Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP), the business incubator under the aegis of IIM Calcutta and TATA Group have announced the commencement of the 8th edition of the TATA Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC). The challenge aims to find some of India’s most promising social enterprises.

The challenge is accepting the entry of applications until mid-September this year. Interested social entrepreneurs can apply by clicking on the following link: http://www.tatasechallenge.org/

The Contest has four stages:

Impact Proposal Round – In this round, teams will need to submit a full business plan format that they have developed to address the pain point in the society and its probable solution and impact in terms of livelihood and income generation.

Regional Rounds – At the first level of screening, the top 100 teams will be shortlisted followed by four regional rounds, namely East, West, North and South with pitching sessions to identify the top 20 semi-finalists.

Semi-Finals – On clearing the pitching at the regional rounds, a maximum of twenty teams will be invited to pitch to a panel of esteemed jury comprising Venture Capitalists, Iconic Social Entrepreneurs and Faculty from IIM Calcutta.

The Grand Finale – A maximum of ten teams will be selected for the Grand Finale and will pitch to a panel of distinguished jury members comprising senior officials from Tata Group, CEOs/Founders of Venture Capitalists Organisations, High Networth Individuals (HNI s) and senior faculty members from IIM Calcutta.

Rewards

● The top 3 winners of the competition will win cash prizes of Rs 6 lakhs (Winner: Rs 2.5 lakhs, Runner-up: Rs 2 lakhs, Second Runner-up: Rs 1.5 lakhs)

● The teams which make it to the Grand Finale will have an opportunity to apply for incubation at IIM Calcutta.

● All teams shortlisted for the semi-finals and finals will have an opportunity to pitch to India’s largest Venture Capitalists for seed funding.

● 3-week mentorship support is provided to all shortlisted teams leading up to a two-day residential mentorship program on IIM Calcutta campus.

Speaking about the Challenge, Dr. Subhrangshu Sanyal, CEO, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, said, “Our endeavour to seek social impact business ideas has driven us into forming this association with Tata Group. We have been able to discover organizations and enterprises with phenomenal innovation through this challenge. It has been a pleasure to assist the participants from all over India, enabling them to thrive in the ecosystem that we have created and nurture social enterprises. Both organizations have formed ‘Thinking Social’ seminars to create awareness on social entrepreneurship and motivate youth to come up with innovative solutions to social challenges.“

The program aims to create an ecosystem for social entrepreneurship, spread awareness and inspire the next generation to take up the challenge of solving socially-relevant issues faced today.