These teams were declared winners at the Asia Semi Final of the GSVC at the ISB. The competition had 215 registrations with a total of 118 business plans sent in from 25 schools in China, Taipei, Singapore, Dubai and Thailand including India.
Talking about the ISB’s role as a mentor, Dr V Chandrasekar, Executive Director, Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurial Development said, “We are proud that the ISB plays an important in grooming these talented and creative social entrepreneurs of the future. Social Ventures have the power to not only promote entrepreneurship but also make a high social impact. Some of the projects mentored by us in the last two years have won various types of resource support and are currently being implemented. “
Teams “Doctor Seed” from China and “Verdacure” from Thailand were announced as the winners of the Asian Semi Final of the Global Social Venture Competition 2007
The plan submitted by the Chinese team was on deployment of a plasma seed processor that would result in higher germination rate, resilient plants and higher yields of crops. The Thai team proposed a project for the production of high quality affordable medicines developed from herbs available in Thailand with an oral care product being the first to be developed.
The award for the most innovative “Social Return on Investment” (SROI) analysis was given to the team from Singapore “Sarvodaya” for its proposal of facilitating cultivation of Aloe Vera in marginalized lands through self-help groups and NGOs, setting up processing facilities, thereby ensuring viability of model and increased income for marginalized farmers. The SROI analysis requires the teams to think through how the social impact of their plan can be quantified.
ISB hosted GSVC in Asia in association with Helios & Matheson Information Technology Ltd, a leading Healthcare focused IT services organization. Many senior executives from Helios and Matheson were active participants in the event. “We feel proud to be part of an activity that has evinced greater enthusiasm and commitment from participants belonging to different nationalities and diverse multi-cultural and societal backgrounds. The feedback that the competition has received reiterates the importance of hosting competitions such as this to promote the social ventures”, said G.K. Muralikrishna, Managing Director, Helios & Matheson.
The jury comprised several eminent personalities such as Hammer Award winner Matthew T. A. Nash, Sara Olsen, social entrepreneurship expert, Vijay Mahajan, MD& CEO- Basix India and some noted venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
GSVC is one of the most high profile competitions for scripting innovative Business plans and setting up Social Ventures that have clear and quantifiable social objectives and are financially sustainable.
The GSVC began in 1999 and is a student-led initiative pioneered by the Haas School of Business, Columbia Business School, and the London Business School. The Indian School of Business (ISB) is a full partner – with responsibility of promoting the competition in business schools in Asia, mentoring the teams, and holding the Asia semi-final round