Rules and Guidelines for the Business Plan Competition

Article 1. General Information

1(a) The Global Youth Entrepreneurship L.P. (YES Fund) Competition is an international business plan competition aimed at both start-ups and established businesses in developing countries. The focus of the business plan is on 'creating markets and unleashing entrepreneurship'.

1(b) The YES Fund is a Clinton Global Initiative, organized by the Youth Employment Summit (YES) Campaign Inc., having its registered office at 8 Peachtree Road, Lexington, Boston, USA. (Hereafter it may also be referred to as the ‘YES FUND Competition Organizer’.)

Article 2. Potential Entrepreneurs

1. Everyone can join the ICT YES Fund Competition, as long as the participant has a  business plan that targets a developing country.
    
2. For the first YES Fund ICT Business Plan Competition, applications are invited from India and Kenya.
    
3. Participants should write their own proposals.
    
4. Participants can also cooperate with other persons and/or organizations to write the business proposals.
    
5. Participants can operate as a team or group, but the person who submits the idea is the main applicant and thus is i) the contact point for the YES Fund Competition organizers and ii) liable/responsible for the terms and conditions.
    
6. The award money (if won) must be assigned by the winner to the actual execution and implementation of the business plan; e.g., to purchase machinery, to finance a pilot project, or to any another relevant destination that contributes to the execution of the plan. If the business is not operational within 6 months after the award ceremony is held, the organizers of the YES Fund Competition have the right to withhold part or all of the award money that is not yet paid out.
    
7. Participants will be excluded from the competition if they:
   1. are under 18 years or over 35 years of age.
   2. do not have a valid identification document (ID).
   3. are guilty of professional misconduct proven.
   4. have been convicted for an offence.
   5. have not fulfilled any obligations relating to social security contributions in accordance with the legal provisions of the specific country (if so applicable).
   6. have not fulfilled any obligations relating to the payment of taxes.
   7. are guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying information as in the terms and conditions of this contest.
   8. directly or indirectly offer, promise, give, or demand a bribe or other undue advantage in order to obtain or retain business or other improper advantage
       
8. The business plan can be submitted by any legal entity (i.e., person, company, cooperative, NGO, foundation, etc.)
    
9. The entity that would carry out the business plan should be (or should become) one of the following for-profit ventures:
   1. sole proprietorship,
   2. partnership,
   3. private / public limited company

Article 3. Subscriptions to YES

1. Subscription to the YES Fund Competition 2007 competition is free of charge.
    
2. Participants can only enter the competition starting from the initial phase. They can enter the second phase only if they have completed and passed the first phase of competition.

Article 4. Selection Process

1. The ICT Global YES Fund Competition would focus on India and Kenya for the first pilot phase. In the case of India, applications are invited from the States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orrisa, Delhi, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram,  Meghalaya, West Bengal.

2. The YES Fund will organize a Global Business Plan Competition. The YES Fund, New Delhi, will be the source of the global component and will include all YES Networks in the ICT Business Plan Competition Process.
    
3. The competition guidelines include participation criteria, assessment criteria, and selection criteria, which are the same for all the participants.
    
4. The YES Fund Competition is for both established businesses and start-up businesses. An established business is one which has generated sales over the past year and focuses on the expansion or diversification. A start-up business is one which has not generated sales yet and focuses on creating a new business.
    
5. Guidelines and selection process are available on the website (www.yesweb.org/fund). The deadlines will also be communicated on the website.
    
6. The YES Fund Competition consists of two phases. In the first phase, the participants submit a viable business proposal before the deadline. If the participants pass the pre-screening stage (the business proposal is screened by 3 screeners), they can submit a complete business plan for the second phase of competition. The participants submitting the best-rated business proposals will be assigned a coach to help them in this process. After the deadline for the second phase, the business plans will be rated by screeners, and the best plans will be assessed by a jury which will select the finalists. This Jury will select the winners on the basis of personal assessment after detailed interaction with the winners.
    
7. Applicants who are not short-listed as winners can still work on their business plans, and their plans would be open to support from the YES Team, including Investors/Banks/Financial Institutions.
    
8. The YES Fund Team has the right to perform the first selection (pre-screening) before the business proposals are distributed to screeners, coaches, experts, and the jury. Also, the YES Fund Team has the right to exclude certain business proposals (for example, proposals of participants who do not comply with the terms and conditions as stated by the organization).
    
9. The YES Fund organizers are fully responsible for the selection and composition of the jury.
    
10. The YES Team and the jury, at all times, have the right to disqualify a participant, without the obligation to state the reasons thereof.
     
11. The jury is fully and solely responsible for the final selection of the winners of the competition. There will be no correspondence about the jury’s final decision to the participants.
     
12. All participants will receive feedback on their business plan as provided by the screener/jury at the end of each phase.
     
13. The finalists would be required to undergo a personal assessment by the jury. Exceptions can only be made in consultation with the YES Fund Team.

Article 5. Eligibility Criteria for Participation

1. The participants should be in the age group of 18-35 years.
    
2. The participants would be from India and Kenya.
    
3. Business proposals are invited only from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Sector.
    
4. The investment requirement for the proposed business should be between US $3,000 and US $10,000.
    
5. Business plans can only be submitted online through the YES website.
    
6. Business plans should be written in English.
    
7. Business plans should seek to generate profit within three years.
    
8. Business plans will be excluded from the competition if they are listed in the IFC environmental and social exclusion list.
    
9. Participants are obliged to mention any third parties that have contributed (financially) to the business plan.
    
10. In case the participant has used the intellectual or lawful protected property of a third party, he/she should do so with the permission of the owner. Also, the participant should submit a declaration of the owner (that he/she allows the participant to use this information) along with the business plan.
     
11. The YES Fund Team encourages intellectual property of universities and other research institutes to be used (if done according to the stated terms and conditions).
     
12. The YES Fund Organizers is not obliged to check the business plans for authorized and legal use of intellectual property rights.

Article 6. Confidentiality Agreement

1. All parties (screeners, coaches, jury, YES Fund investors) that have access to business plans are required to sign a Confidentiality Agreement.
    
2. All parties that have signed the Confidentiality Agreement will be held accountable for violation of this agreement.
    
3. All business plans remain the property of the participant.
    
4. The participant, however, agrees that his/her business plan be internally available to the YES Fund Competition Organization for statistical purposes.
    
5. The participant does agree that the YES Fund Team can use text, photos, and all related material of his/her business plan for promotional purposes (on their website, www.yesweb.org/fund, as well as in the printed promotional material of the YES Fund Competition and the YES Campaign INC.).

Article 7. Resolution of Conflicts

1. The YES Fund Team will not be liable for any claims regarding the selection procedure or assessment criteria for the winning business plans.
    
2. The organizers of the YES Fund Competition will not be responsible or liable for any loss, theft, or non-authorized use of business plans that may occur.
    
3. All conflicts will be made available for judgment to the YES Fund Jury.

August 2007
The YES Fund Team
yesfund@yesweb.org