Vartika Tripathi from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Pune wins National B – Plan Competition 2019 at XIME, Bangalore
Bengaluru: More than 100 entries were received from the premier business schools across India. The first prize was awarded to Vartika Tripathi from SIBM, Pune who presented her potential business idea on a go-to care partner for pet parents in India. The first runner up was Sivaprakash from Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode presenting his idea on low cost hearing aid, followed by second runner up Chinmaya Naik from G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur presenting his idea on affordable digital classroom solutions for the students in visually impaired community. The first, second and third positioned teams will get free incubation with XIME, besides other exciting prizes.Rs. 2 Lakhs, Rs. 1 Lakh and Rs. 50,000 respectively.
In a bid to unlock India’s inventive potential, the Entrepreneurship Cell of Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME), Bengaluru, hosted the final leg of National Business Plan Competition 2019 today. The competition was intended at identifying disruptive ideas and focused to stimulate young minds to think creatively and work towards innovative business ideas and solutions for the country’s most promising segments.
Prominent panel of judges, Dr. Ravi Gururaj, Founder & CEO, QikPod, Dr. Sidhar Mitta, Director, NextWealth Entrepreneurs, Mr. Sanjay Anandaram, Member, NSRCEL Review Committee, IIMB and Dr. Mathew Manimala, Former Professor of IIM B, Entrepreneurship and Strategy selected the winners based on selection criteria that included innovation, creativity and scalability of the idea.
Sharing thoughts on her win, Vartika Tripathi from SIBM, Pune, shared, “I am excited to win XIME B-Plan Competition 2019. I sincerely thank XIME for providing us this opportunity and platform to present our business ideas. It was an enriching experience to get this exposure where we could receive productive feedback not only from the jury panel but also from the co-participants. It was really great listening to the other business ideas as they were really innovative. Overall, it has been an amazing experience being a part of XIME National B Plan Competition 2019.”
The grand finale of the multi-legged competition saw the best six teams competing against each other with smart and innovative ideas that could be potential solutions to several challenges that our country is currently facing today. The final leg had institutions like – Sir M Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bangalore, G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur, Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Pune, K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai and NIIT University, Neemrana were also the part of the Grand Finale.
Speaking at the event, Dr. J Alexander, IAS (Retired), Former Chief Secretary and Cabinet Minister, Karnataka State, India and Chief Guest at XIME Business Plan Competition 2019 said, “B plan aims at bringing out people who can be leaders and wake up the dreamer inside oneself. I wish everyone present here big successes in life. Initiatives like The National Business Plan Competition 2019 will help such talented students to transform their innovative ideas into potential businesses.”
Over 100 teams across India nominated themselves to pitch their ground-breaking business ideas to compete in the regional levels of the competition. Out of these 100 teams, 25 teams from established institutions like IIM Ranchi, IIM Bangalore, BITS Pilani, NIIT University, SIBM Pune, KJ Somaiya Institute, VIT Bengaluru, EDI Ahmedabad, Nirma University got chance to present their ideas to the eminent jury members during the regional rounds held at YMCA Central, Mumbai on November 15, 2019, at YMCA, Delhi on November 16, 2019 and XIME Campus, Bengaluru on November 18, 2019.
During this three-level competition, interested teams submitted their ideas through a one-minute video, an elevator pitch and two-page documents. The elevator pitch broadly addressed – the problem the statement, solution to that problem, target/potential customers, procedure to reach the first customer, and showcasing of any prototype or minimum viable product.