Welspun Group launches Disruptor – an innovation challenge for the new-gen ESG thinkers

Mumbai: Welspun Group, one of India’s fastest-growing global conglomerates, has announced the launch of Disruptor – a first-of-its-kind competition that will bring together young talent with pathbreaking ideas of sustainable Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) business solutions. These next-gen minds will be mentored and incubated by Welspun. The company has partnered with Dare2Compete, one of India’s largest student communities, to garner participation from students from over 25 marquee colleges across the country for this quest, where winning teams will be rewarded with seed funding for their ventures.

This programme, under the Welocity initiative, is Welspun Group’s first-ever celebration of the spirit of entrepreneurship, as the organization continues to recognize ESG as an inextricable part of today’s evolving business landscape. Through Disruptor, Welspun will encourage ideas that focused towards the wellbeing of the environment, society and business stakeholders, while keeping sustainability and growth at its core.

Disruptor is segmented into four key stages. In the first leg, students are required to submit their ideas in the form of a templatized executive summary. Thereafter, masterclasses with Welspun leaders for the top 100 shortlisted ideas will be conducted, where teams will be trained to develop and present their business plans. In the third stage, qualifying teams will present their solutions, protypes and justifications and in the final stage, winners will be announced following a last round of presentation to Welspun Investors.

Speaking on this, Ms. Dipali Goenka, CEO & Jt. MD, Welspun India Ltd. said, “Welspun Group has always endeavored to become a global leader in the use of the ESG framework by enabling a sustainable and circular approach in all its operations. And with stakeholders becoming more attentive towards environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and good governance, incorporating ESG in the entire value chain is the clear future for India Inc. Thus, with the launch of Disruptor we aim to nurture ESG thinking in the next generation of business professionals and bring their groundbreaking ideas to life.”

Additionally, Ms. Bidisha Banerjee, Sr. Vice President, Talent, Culture & Employer Branding, Welspun Group said, “The Welspun Group is deeply committed to ESG, but it doesn’t end there. In line with this core belief, we’re looking to identify young minds, through Disruptor, who envisage creating a similar, better future with their game-changing business ideas that transform the industry by innovation. There is incredible potential in the today’s youth to make a difference with disruptive thinking, and we want to invest our might, mentorship and resources behind those that will lead us to a sustainable future.”

With over 5000 registrations since 2nd August 2021, the programme has been gaining momentum within Dare2Compete’s student community, leading to over 1.75 lac views online. Disruptor is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students above the age of 18 across India, and students from any specialization and cross-specialization teams can participate. Registrations will close on 15th August 2021.