IFC, WBI Honor Social Entrepreneurs at India Development Marketplace

April 11, 2011—IFC, a member of the World Bank group, and World Bank Institute have announced 14 winners of the 2011 India Development Marketplace, a competitive grant program that identifies and supports innovative social enterprises demonstrating a high potential for development impact. The competition was launched in December 2010 in Bihar, Orissa, and Rajasthan.

The theme for this year’s competition was Supporting Inclusive Business Models to Scale. The 14 award-winning business models will receive a grant of $50,000 each. The prize money will be disbursed in two installments over 24 months.

IFC will supervise the grant implementation over the entire duration. The funds will be used to invest in all activities and assets necessary to establish the viability of the business model such as testing, quality assurance, certification, consulting services, and test marketing services.



Linking early-stage social enterprises to next-stage financial aid through targeted grant support and advisory services is the key focus of India Development Marketplace. The initiative helps grassroot organizations refine and build their business models to ensure sustainable impact over the long term.

2011 India Development Marketplace has evolved as a platform to encourage collaboration between social entrepreneurs, foundations, investors, the World Bank, IFC, and others beyond providing grant support.

Banknet Group has produced a CSR (social awareness) short film to encourage people from villages to open accounts with banks & to promote financial inclusion. Theme of film is “Har Ghar Mein Ho Khata (Every household needs to have a bank account). We aim to assist the industry in their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives by coming up with relevant TVCs, short films, theatre shows & events.... Read more



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