The concluding round of Srijan Microfinance Business Plan Competition 2008, in partnership with The Financial Express, was held in Mumbai on Thursday.
Into its third year, the competition has emerged as a powerful platform to nurture and advise participants on various aspects of microfinance.
Srijan showcased new ideas for greater financial inclusion as a sector-building initiative. It helped put the spotlight on emerging and established enterprises that could directly or indirectly create opportunities for greater financial inclusion.
Srijan 2008 also focused on addressing three priority areas for the microfinance sector like lack of risk capital, knowledge asymmetry and application of technological innovation for business efficiency.
The winner of the competition, G Muralidhar (Akshara) was awarded a cash prize of Rs 6 lakh and the two runners-up prizes were bagged by Praseeda Kunam (Samhita) and V Hitendra Shankar (Synergics). Each runner-up prize carried a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh.
Srijan 2008 initiative also organised a panel discussion on emerging issues in microfinance. Millions of viewers from around the world watched this two-hour mega event that was also cast live on http://www.financialexpress.com.