Be it creating a solution to redefine the solar energy market in India or popularising a product which helps a ‘feature phone’ to run comprehensive banking solutions or conceptualising an ecosystem for India’s fintech startups or laying the roadmap for a cashless Indian economy.
The grand finale was the culmination of four months of hardwork and saw the 15 finalist teams pitch their ideas to a jury comprising of industry leaders and budding entrepreneurs.
The jury consisted of A.K Tripathi, advisor, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy; Sanjeeb Kalita, chief revenue officer, Ezetap; Abhishek Saxena, MD, Taisys; Anand Prasanna, managing partner, Iron Pillar; Avinash Godkhindi, CEO, Zaggle; Debashish Mukherjee, partner, A.T. Kearney; Ganapathy Venugopal, CEO, Axilor Ventures; Jay Krishnan, CEO, T-Hub; Naganand Doraswamy, MD & founder, Ideaspring Capital; Vivek Khare, director of strategy, LetsVenture.
Anand Prasanna, managing partner, Iron Pillar, and jury member said, “Financial services in India are poised for significant disruption driven by APIs developed based on JAM and deeper penetration of mobile Internet, unlocking $500 bn plus of value in the coming decade. YES Bank Transformation Series is a great initiative to bring out ideas by entrepreneurial minds and solve problems, which can unlock this value.”
This year, India’s largest B-school case study challenge, the YES Bank Transformation Series, provided a platform for the brightest minds in the world to attempt all of this and much more.
The YES Bank Transformation Series 2016, in its fifth edition this year, turned out to be a remarkable success. From its beginning in 2010, when it saw participation from 1,500 students to its 4th edition last year with more than 16,000 students participating, the popularity of the contest has continued to soar among the student community.
The fifth edition witnessed participation by more than 25,000 students from India’s top B-schools, including IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, ISB Hyderabad, IIFT, NITIE, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Shillong, among others. Using a mix of digital and social media, the competition engaged with over 300,000 students from across the world. The top 15 finalists were identified through an exhaustive preliminary round and a series of campus rounds conducted at the top 24 B-schools across the country.
Ganapathy Venugopal, CEO, Axilor Ventures, and jury member said, “The Transformation Series offers a great opportunity for youngsters to come up with innovative solutions to real problems. For many, I hope this will be their first step towards entrepreneurship.”
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy shared a challenge focusing on popularising solar energy with the 15 finalist teams of the YES Bank Transformation Series. The final case shared by MNRE focused on seeking innovative solutions for solar PV installations and creating a detailed strategy to popularise solar consumer products.
Rana Kapoor, chief mentor, YES Bank Transformation Series and managing director & CEO, YES Bank, said, “At YES Bank, it is our constant endeavour to interact with the young minds and channelise their entrepreneurial spirit in the right direction with an emphasis on innovation. The YES Bank Transformation Series is a great opportunity for aspiring students to put themselves in the shoes of business leaders, test their mettle against the world and showcase their innovative thinking. I strongly believe that this case study challenge will help us find the next big thinkers and innovators of the country.”
The Winning SolutionsThe winners of the YES bank Transformation Series were Team North East Royals, IIM Shillong, who took home a prize money of Rs 3 lakh and PPI. The team proposed an entire ecosystem of Village Entrepreneurs, listing down the role of “Solar Sahayaks” and a payment solution based on “pay-as-you-go” model.
The first runners-up was Team Plutus, ISB Hyderabad, which received Rs 2 lakh in prize and PPI. ISB Hyderabad clinched the title last year and this year’s team missed out on the top slot by just a few points. The team laid down a roadmap for increasing solar energy consumption primarily through the online marketplace named suDhan. It’s a portal which aims to integrate the products of existing solar companies with a “pay as you go” distribution model for recharge with online and offline capabilities. A loyalty programme can provide suDhan credits to the customers and promote re-purchase options.
The second runners-up was Team Heisenberg, IIFT Kolkata which received Rs 1 lakh in prize and PPI. The team suggested a smart co-operative society model backed by a Solar Credit Trust. This Trust could be a registered firm for selling/exchanging solar renewable energy certificates (RECs). Initial funding for setting up the trust can be obtained from a government fund, clean development mechanism authorities, banks, fintechs, firms or individual investors which will lead this initiative of “Surya-manthan”.
The Need To Go beyond BankingThis is not the first time YES Bank is working towards addressing some of the key challenges in the renewable energy sector. In fact, new renewable energy is a key focus sector for the bank. YES Bank has adopted the triple bottomline, ‘People, Planet and Profit’, thereby creating enduring value, competitive advantage, and sustainability leadership. The bank’s sustainability focus is driven by Responsible Banking (RB) and their approach has moved from philanthropy-based CSR to strategic sustainability encapsulated in the RB strategy. “Companies like YES Bank are looking out for talent that can innovate and build new technologies. In today’s fast changing global landscape, YES Bank has found a way to partner with entrepreneurs and keep transforming through this innovative platform,” said Sanjay Swamy, managing partner and cofounder, Prime Venture Partners.
Former finance secretary Ashok Chawla, now chairman of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) & non-executive chairman, YES Bank, highlighted the need to direct national attention to drive use of solar energy and how YES Bank’s Transformation Series contributes to this. “YES Bank is a vanguard in green financing, transforming innovation and digital economy. It’s not your traditional brick and mortar bank. Even now, the ecological human foot print is 1.5 times over capacity of what earth can handle. And one such resource that is depleting fast is energy. It’s crucial to sustain, find alternatives and to secure our energy needs. By 2030, India will need 2500 GWh. So the transformation has to be innovative and economical-inventory and cost wise.”
In a nutshell, the YES Bank Transformation Series is an attempt towards nurturing and promoting the talent inherent in the brightest young minds of the country, while also infusing the spirit of DICE — Design, Innovation and Creativity led Entrepreneurship in them. The central idea is establishing a global “Innovation Lab” that would create a sustained culture of idea exchange, crowdsourcing, entrepreneurship and innovation in India. The Transformation Series is the first step where YES Bank not only mentors budding entrepreneurs of the country but also prepares them for the innovation journey ahead.
BW Reporters
Regina is a reporter for BW Businessworld. In her previous assignments, she has worked with Independent television Network as a news anchor and reporter in Sri Lanka
