YES FUND COMPETITION SELECTION PROCESS

Business plans will be assessed on the basis of the YES Fund Competition 2007 Participation Criteria. The ICT Business Plan Competition will be held in two phases. In Phase I, the submitted business proposals will be assessed by Screeners. Participants selected during Phase I will be required to present a complete and viable business plan. In Phase II, the complete business plans will be screened and assessed by our Screeners and Jury. Screeners and Jury members are business experts. They provide valuable feedback, insights, experience, and motivation to the participants, thus contributing to the success of the Business Plan Competition.

Phase I

The following are the stages of Phase I:

• All interested applicants/youth (aged 18–35 years) will be required to submit an online application form to describe their business plan and prospective partners within the stated deadline.
• Between 1 Nov-31 Nov 2007, all submitted Phase I business plans will be screened thrice by professionals from our partner organizations.
• Participants submitting the best-rated proposals will be provided a Business Coach to help them write a full business plan.

Phase II

The following are the stages of Phase II:

• Participants selected in Phase I will be required to submit a full, viable business plan by the stated Phase II deadline.
• After the deadline, Phase II Screeners will select the 50 best complete business plans.
• Once Phase II is complete, Screeners will screen the 50 selected Business Plans and select 25 Business Plans amongst those 50, which will enter the final phase.
• During the Final Phase, the Jury will interview the 25 finalists. These entrepreneurs will have to present their business plans to the Jury, based on which the Jury will question them. The Jury will then get together and select up to 10 Prize Winners on the basis of consensus. The Jury will divide the total prize money amongst the chosen winners (award size US $2,000 each).
• The 10 prize-winning business plans will be declared at the Award Event in the Final Week and the Prize Winners will be awarded the Prize money.