BWI: 2011 India Development Marketplace: 30 Proposals short-listed

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: World Bank Institute
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 10:43 PM IST (05:13 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Banking & financial services, Business services, Financial Analyst, Information technology, Major diversified industrial groups
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2011 India Development Marketplace: 30 Proposals short-listed


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Wednesday, March 16, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- The 2011 India Development Marketplace (DM) has announced 30 finalists for the competition. (Please refer to Annexure-I for detailed list)

The 30 short-listed proposals were selected from 264 entries submitted to the competition and aim to address major development needs in the Indian states of Bihar (33%), Orissa (33%) and Rajasthan (27%). Nearly 7% of the chosen proposals target all the three states. Majority of the proposals focus on three sectors: Livelihoods Opportunities (23%), Handicrafts (23%) and Education (20%).

The finalists will present their business models to a high-level jury panel on April 6, 2011 in Jaipur. The jury will identify and support 13 of the most innovative proposals with the highest potential for scaling up in a financially sustainable manner.

Each winning project will receive US$50,000 (about Indian Rs 2,247,500) in two installments over 24 months. Each project will also receive technical assistance supervised by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

"Applications were received from Bihar, Orissa, and Rajasthan and have the potential to make significant on-the-ground impact," said Mr. Aleem Walji, Manager, Innovation Practice in the World Bank Institute. "The majority of proposals received address some of the most pressing needs in the three states."

Finalists were selected following a rigorous process of screening and online assessment. Proposals were reviewed by at least two independent experts from a pool of technical specialists, social and mainstream investors, and the greater development community, and were judged according to social impact, sustainability, growth potential and innovation.

The India DM is a World Bank Institute-housed grant program that is now being built out as a platform for sustained collaboration between social entrepreneurs, foundations, investors, the World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and others.

For more information, please visit

Development Marketplace http://www.developmentmarketplace.org
World Bank Institute http://wbi.worldbank.org
International Finance Corporation http://www.ifc.org
International Finance Corporation in South Asia http://www.ifc.org/southasia

Annexure 1
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Annexure(1).pdf
Annexure(1).pdf


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