Tata Social Enterprise Challenge Is Back in Its Quest to Find Social Innovators

Business Wire India
The much-awaited Tata Social Enterprise Challenge 2021-22 is back in its 10th edition to find India’s most promising early-stage social innovators. Hosted by the Tata Group along with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM Calcutta), this edition of the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge will focus on identifying ‘social entrepreneurs’ working to make the world a better place. 
 

Rewards   Mentorship 20 teams will be selected for the semi-finals and will be provided mentorship support. Funding Opportunity Shortlisted teams for the semi-finals and finals will have an opportunity to pitch to India’s largest impact investors for seed funding, including for the Tata SE Challenge Seed Fund of Rs.25 Lakhs Incubation The finalists will get a chance to pitch for incubation at the IIM Calcutta Innovation Park. Cash Awards The total prize money is Rs.10 lakhs for the top three teams.

 The challenge that began as an annual event in 2012, provides a platform to identify social entrepreneurs and empower them to build sustainable, scalable, and measurable social impact. Since its inception, the platform has witnessed an overwhelming response with participation from over 5000 social innovators.
 
This challenge is open for teams who either have an early-stage venture (not older than three years) or a promising idea with a plan that can create sustainable social impact in India. They can submit their business plans online, by logging on to www.tatasechallenge.org. 
 
Impact Proposals (detailed Business Plans) are invited in the areas of agriculture, food and dairy, healthcare, water and sanitation, technology and development, education & skills development, housing, handicrafts, energy, and microfinance/financial inclusion. The ventures will be judged on three parameters - Business Model, Social Impact, and Sustainability. 
 
The Challenge invites the public to nominate social enterprises that they know of and who fit the eligibility criteria. The last day to submit the Impact Proposals online is 16th December 2021. 
 
Through this challenge, selected social entrepreneurs will be offered mentorship support, funding opportunities, and an opportunity to pitch for incubation at the IIM Calcutta Innovation Park. Start-ups that have been selected for incubation will also be eligible for pro-bono services offered by corporate partners, amounting to Rs.  30 Lakhs in total.
 
This year, a campus ambassador initiative is being launched as part of the overall Tata SE Challenge programme. Through this initiative, ambassadors will be appointed from selected campuses, to drive awareness and interest in social entrepreneurship in the student community. Top ambassadors will be recognised at the Grand Finale Summit of the Tata SE Challenge.
 
Mr. Harish Bhat, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons, said, “The Tata Social Enterprise Challenge has consistently endeavored to promote and developsocial enterprises and social investment to help address entrenched social issues and deliver positive change in our communities. We remain steadfast in our efforts to empower budding social entrepreneurs, who want to bring a transformative change to society.” 
 
Dr. Subhrangshu Sanyal, CEO IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, said, “The Tata Social Enterprise Challenge is an excellent platform to inspire and support aspiring social innovators to take up entrepreneurship as a career option, as well as provide the much-needed visibility, incubation, funding, and networking support to early-stage social entrepreneurs. We are excited about the massive potential that social entrepreneurs holds to create impact across the country – something that India needs today.”
 
The Tata Social Enterprise Challenge is being supported by some of the biggest Venture Capitalists in the Social Entrepreneurship space and is held in five stages. 

1. Application Round – In this round, teams are required to submit Impact Proposals through the Challenge website. The Top 100 Impact Proposals are selected for the next round.
2. Regional Rounds – Pitching Rounds are conducted in 5 regions across the country for the Top 100 teams shortlisted from the application round. The Top 20 teams are selected for the Semi-Final round.
3. International Round – An exclusive pitching session is conducted for the international teams participating in the Challenge, out of which the Top 4 teams are selected for the Semi-Finals.
4. Semi-Final Round – The Top 24 teams selected from the Regional and International Rounds, are invited to pitch to a panel of esteemed judges from the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The Top 12 teams are selected for the next round.
5. The Grand Finale – The 12 teams selected from the Semi-Final Round make it to the Grand Finale and pitch to a panel of esteemed judges, consisting of TATA Business Leaders, CEOs/Founders of VCs, Social Entrepreneurs, and faculty from IIM Calcutta.

 
As a part of the build-up to the Challenge, multiple webinars have been held on various themes related to social entrepreneurship to inspire youth to take up social entrepreneurship as a career option. The Challenge also leverages interactive digital and social media platforms such as the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge website (www.tatasechallenge.org), Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to create and disseminate knowledge about the status of Social Entrepreneurship in India. 
 
For registration criteria and procedure, interested applicants can log onto www.tatasechallenge.org.

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