Piramal Prize: Social Entrepreneurship For Health Care In India Competition

The Piramal Prize seeks to enable cutting-edge entrepreneurial ideas that bring the highest standards of health to India's masses. Entries, for-profit or not-for-profit, should emphasize both profitablity/sustainability and maximum social impact. The most viable business model will receive INR 10,00,000 (10 Lakh / 1 million) in seed funding in addition to potential venture capital.
The Piramal Prize evaluation process involves three stages: The first stage requires teams to outline the problem being addressed, the nature of the innovation(s), and design of the enterprise. After submission, stage one entries will be viewable to the public on our website and will be open to comments and suggestions. Additionally, stage one entries may be modified by entrants until the submission deadline of April 1st, 2008. The second stage requires semi-finalists to submit detailed business plans and financial projections; the third stage invites five finalists to the Piramal Prize weekend at IIM-Ahmedabad in June 2008.
Entrance Requirements: Plans must directly or indirectly address the health crisis in India. Entries may be for-profit or not-for-profit, and should be sustainable business models that have a significant social impact. Applicants may enter as a team, with a maximum of three members. All participants must be over the age of 18.

What: The Piramal Prize a $25K Social Entrepreneurship Competition  focused on democratizing health care in India

Goal: The competition seeks to encourage and support bold entrepreneurial ideas which can profoundly impact access to higher standards of health for India's rural and marginalized urban communities. The award recognizes high-impact, scalable business models that innovative solutions directly or indirectly addressing India's healthcare crisis.

Entries may include (but are not limited to):
* innovations in service delivery
* technology applications
* health-related products
* mechanisms to address public health necessities (i.e. potable water)

Why enter the competition?
* Contestants will have access to mentorship by prominent business and health leaders and the support of an online community to fully develop their ideas.
* Finalists will spend a weekend in Ahmedabad presenting to a panel of distinguished judges and showcasing their ideas to leading finance firms.
* Winners will receive over $25,000 in seed funding and access to further venture capital support to launch their ideas.
* Winners will be given incubation support at the internationally recognized Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

Deadline:  Initial entries are due April 1st, 2008.

Contact:  The competition is sponsored by Piramal Foundation, a NGO pursuing social enterprise development in India.  If you have any questions or need any more information, please contact Naman Shah
(naman[at]piramal.org.in)  or visit (http://www.piramalprize.org ).