ET Prodigy 2009

Guidelines
• To participate in ET Prodigy, you are required to submit the fully filled Case Study
for the Jury to evaluate.
• Please provide information on all parameters. Please do not leave any point blank or
unfilled. It may otherwise be regarded by the Jury as an incomplete application, and
rejected.
• You may participate in ET Prodigy only as an individual, teams are not allowed.
• Individuals between 18 years and 32 years of age as on Sept. 28, 2009 alone can
participate.
• Participants can submit entries in either of the following streams only:
o Category A: Students between 18 < 26 years of age can participate.
ƒ If you are a member of the ET in Campus programme, the completed
case study document should be titled as per the following format
Participant Name_ Institute_ City – Category A_ETIC.
ƒ Other students can title the completed case study document as per
the following format Participant Name_ Institute_ City – Category
A.
o Category B: Working professionals between 23 < 32 years of age can
participate. Completed case study document should be titled as per the
following format Participant Name_ Company name_ City – Category B
• All entries should be in the form of a Microsoft Word document in font Times New
Roman (size 12) with single line spacing.
• File size should not more than 750 KB.
• Entries should be sent on email only to etcasestudy@indiatimes.com.
• The last date for receipt of submissions is midnight of September 28, 2009. Entries
received after the due date/time will not be accepted.
• Guidelines have been provided to help you fill the Case Study. We encourage you to
provide answers as per the word limits provided in the case study, as any violation of
the word limit prescribed for each would result in automatic disqualification.
• Entries that do not follow the aforesaid criteria will be declined. Entry into the
competition assumes acceptance of the Terms and Conditions listed on the website
www.etawards.economictimes.com

I. Details Required (All fields mandatory)

1. Personal Details:

Name:Mr./Mrs./Ms._______________________________________________________

Date of Birth (DD/MM/YYYY):_______________________________________________

Complete postal address:__________________________________________________

Email:_________________________________________________________________
Mobile and/or Landline (With STD code):_____________________________________

City: State: .

Are you a member of the ET in the Campus programme?

(Please tick the applicable option)

Yes No

2. Stream of participation
(Please tick the applicable option)

Category A: Students and Working professionals between 18 < 26 years of age

Category B: Working professionals between 23 < 32 years of age

2. Education:
Please add details such as the degree completed and institution. If you are currently
pursuing your education, please mention the same.

Diploma: .
Graduation: .
Post-Graduation: .
Professional: .
Others. Please specify: .

3. Experience:

Full time work experience (in years) .

Organisation Designation Function/Role From-To

(Month/Year)

Case Brief:

Arvind Apte is employed at an Infrastructure consulting firm in a senior position. He has

been involved in multiple projects with International financial and labour organizations;
focused towards creating more inclusive and sustainable growth in India.
Apte has identified the potential for a viable business model catering to this space, and
understands the need to contribute directly towards these initiatives. Apte has hence
decided to resign from his present job and start an organization that will create social
impact. Today at his farewell dinner, his colleagues kept probing him about his new
enterprise. As he was driving back, Apte felt that he had not given enough thought to his
new organization’s business model, in particular, thinking through ways and means to
ensure self sustainability of the enterprise while realizing the mission and social goals.

The question was still lingering in his mind as he parked the car in his garage. What
should be the focus of his organization?

Should it be ‘To develop underprivileged job seekers into job creators’ or ‘To support
capability building and scaling of existing ventures managed by underprivileged
individuals/ communities’ The chosen statement would set the course for Apte’s planning
and implementation in his home state of Maharashtra over the next 3 years.

If Apte chooses the first statement, ‘To develop underprivileged job seekers into job
creators’, the organization would be called Cascade World. Cascade World will work
towards identifying young entrepreneurs who are between 21-35 years of age from
under-privileged backgrounds (household income < Rs.5000 per month). Cascade World
would reach out to the underprivileged communities through its employees and
volunteers. The organization would also identify counselors, who will guide the young
individual entrepreneurs throughout the project’s lifecycle. The counselors would be
individuals with established business operations or salaried persons working at a
corporate in Maharashtra.

Once entrepreneurs are identified, they would be coached by Cascade World employees
and volunteer counselors. Business plans would be developed and Cascade World may
decide to provide the seed capital ranging from 1 lakh to 5 lakhs.

Apte believes the opportunity for Cascade World lies in bringing together the
underprivileged youth, the counselors and the financing institutions. There are several
enabling factors
1. The number of underprivileged youth in Maharashtra is high
2. Corporate Social Responsibility has become a buzz world in the Corporate world
and counselors would be available easily

If Apte chooses the second statement, ‘To support capability building and scaling of
existing ventures managed by underprivileged individuals/ communities’ the
organization would be called Sustain World. Sustain World will work towards providing
individuals, institutions, with strategies and skills through which they will be able to
strengthen and/ or scale up their livelihood strategies.

Sustain World would reach out to underprivileged individuals and communities through
its employees and volunteers. Once the group/ individuals are selected, Sustain World
would provide inputs and advisory relating to areas such as skill building, planning,
tactical execution plans, improved understanding of business that would help enhance
their revenue earning potential.
As he went to bed, Apte was grappling with similar challenges for Cascade World and
Sustain World.
1. What would it take for the model to become self sustaining and emerge as a viable
proposition?
2. What process would Cascade World apply to identify individual entrepreneurs?
Alternatively how would Sustain World identify individuals / communities to provide
advisory services?
3. How many people can Cascade World or Sustain World impact in the first three
years? How can the model be made scaleable?

Here’s how YOU can help.

Instructions for submitting your response:

All entries are required to be structured in the following format. Entries that do not fulfill
the criteria given above will be rejected.
• Page 1: Mention personal details, stream of participation, education and experience.
• Page 2: Summary of your model. You may choose either of the business models
mentioned in the case. The summary should describe the salient features of your
model and the reasons behind your choice of model (in 250-300 words.
• For your chosen model, please provide answers to Questions 1, 2 and 3 (in 350-400
words each) with each answer on a separate page, and in the sequence as provided
in the case brief.

Evaluation Criteria:
All entries would be evaluated basis the following criteria:
• Feasibility and Sustainability
• Originality and Novelty
• Target Market Identification
• Scalability

Entry into ET Prodigy assumes acceptance of the Terms and Conditions listed on the
website www.etawards.economictimes.com.

I HAVE UNDERSTOOD THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF ET PRODIGY AND I

RESOLVE TO ABIDE BY THEM.

Place : ______________________

Date : ______________________

Name/Signature: ______________________

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Deadline for submissions: September 28, 2009

E-mail entries to: etprodigy@indiatimes.com with ‘ENTRY SUBMISSION –

(CATEGORY TITLE)’ mentioned in the subject line

Email queries to: etprodigy@indiatimes.com with ‘QUERY’ mentioned in

the subject line.

1. ET Prodigy is an initiative of and the sole property of The Economic Times.

ET Prodigy is supported by partners and sponsors as published on
www.etwards.economictimes.com.

2. The evaluation of all Case Studies will be undertaken by The Economic

Times in consultation with KPMG. As Knowledge Partner, KPMG has been
assigned with the task of assessing each Case Study and short listing the
best from the submissions received.

3. Submissions are invited in two streams (1) Category A: Students between 18

< 26 years of age can participate. If you are a member of the ET in Campus
programme, the completed case study document should be titled as per the
following format Participant Name_ Institute_ City – Category A_ETIC.
Other students can title the completed case study document as per the
following format Participant Name_ Institute_ City – Category A. Category
B: Working professionals between 23 < 32 years of age can participate.
Completed case study document should be titled as per the following format
Participant Name_ Company name_ City – Category B.

4. Participation in ET Prodigy is free, there is no entry fee charged. Only one

entry is permitted per participant. Only individuals can participate in the
competition.

5. Participant is required to be an Indian national between 18 and 32 years of

age as on September 28, 2009. The following persons cannot participate in
ET Prodigy, if they are currently: (a) An employee of Bennett Coleman & Co.
Limited or group companies of The Times Group (b) A partner, director
or employee of KPMG or any of its network of firms in India, (3) A member of
the evaluating panel for ET Prodigy (4) member or employee of sponsors or
their group companies.

6. Only electronic submissions will be entertained and are required to follow

these procedures (1) A qualified entry should not exceed the word limit
stipulated against each parameter. (2) All entries should be in the form of a
Microsoft Word document in font Times New Roman (size 12) with single line
spacing. (3) The cover page of each entry should contain the name, institute/
organization name, education degree/course, e-mail address, mobile phone
number, alternate phone number (4) Category A: Students between 18 < 26
 years of age can participate. If you are a member of the ET in Campus
programme, the completed case study document should be titled as per the
following format Participant Name_ Institute_ City – Category A_ETIC.
Other students can title the completed case study document as per the
following format Participant Name_ Institute_ City – Category A. Category
B: Working professionals between 23 < 32 years of age can participate.
Completed case study document should be titled as per the following format
Participant Name_ Company name_ City – Category B. (5) Short listed
candidates will be required to provide the following documents for scrutiny to
ET Prodigy within the stipulated timelines before being declared the winner.
Scanned copy of valid photo identification, stating the date of birth. Scanned
copies of a valid driving license, voter ID, income tax, pan card, school
leaving certificate, passport or ration card may be provided. Other forms of
identification will not be accepted. .Students: Scanned copy of the institute ID
card or a scanned copy of a letter of certification from the institute duly signed
by the Dean/Principal. Working Professionals: Scanned copy of the company
ID card or a scanned copy of a letter of certification of employment from the
company. (6) Entries should be sent by email only to
etprodigy@indiatimes.com. The last date for receipt of submissions is
midnight of September 28, 2009. Entries received after the due date/time will
not be accepted. Entries that do not follow the aforesaid procedure will be
rejected.

7. Prizes must be accepted as offered and are subject to availability. No

alternative prize or cash value in lieu of the same will be provided.

8. Proof of submission of any entry is not proof of receipt of the entry by ET

Prodigy. ET Prodigy, The Economic Times, KPMG or group companies
thereof, accept not responsibility for submissions lost online or received after
submission deadline, Further, no confirmation of receipt of entries will be
issued to the participants.

9. The Economic Times shall be entitled to acquire and use, free of any
additional charge or consideration and without restriction, all such intellectual
property, communicated by the participants in their entries for any purpose
that ET may deem fit.

10. ET Prodigy may change the Terms and Conditions of participation, gifts at
any time without specific notice. The amended Terms and Conditions of Entry
will be effective immediately upon being posted on the Website. Important
changes to the Terms and Conditions may be highlighted on the Website
www.etawards.economictimes.com for your convenience; however, you
acknowledge that it is your sole responsibility to regularly visit the Website to
read any changes to the Terms and Conditions of Entry. Conditions apply.
11. ET Prodigy, KPMG or any of the partners will not incur any costs of
participants in the competition nor entertain any kind of claim unless
specified.

12. The participant is solely responsible for any taxes, duties, charges or levies to
be paid to any person in connection with any money (including any prizes)
they pay or receive in connection with ET Prodigy. Prizes cannot be
exchanged. Cash will not be provided in lieu of the prizes.

13. ET Prodigy may at any time and for any reason:

(a) disqualify a participant from the competition at their absolute discretion if
such disqualification is warranted; or (b) discontinue ET Prodigy by posting a
notice to that effect on the Website www.etawards.economictimes.com

14. Winners will be announced online in November 2009. Accommodation and

travel for the Grand Prize winner invited to attend The Economic Times
Awards for Corporate Excellence at Mumbai and to collect the car key will be
borne by The Economic Times. The Economic Times will provide breakfast,
lunch and dinner for the Grand Prize winner – all other costs will be the
responsibility of the individual. Additional guests or nights stay will not be
covered by BCCL,INDIA.

15. The decision of the judges would be final and binding. No communication will
be entered into with any person in relation to the evaluation. Any dispute
arising out of or in relation to this competition shall be governed by the laws of
India and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts at Delhi.

16. Entry into the competition assumes acceptance of the rules.