Innovative business models on renewable energy ready to hit the Indian market

The thought provoking ‘Business Strategy Development Competition’, the finale of ‘India-Sweden Innovations’ Accelerator (ISIA)’ programme successfully concluded on August 30, 2014 at WeSchool, Mumbai, where teams from WeSchool and Institute for Future Education, Entrepreneurship and Leadership (iFEEL) presented future-proof business models and strategies on renewable/green energy that can be implemented especially in the energy starved rural India.  

The business ideas designed by students’ teams were evaluated by an external jury panel comprising of Ludvig Lindstorm, Country Director- India, Swedish Energy Agency, Dr Anjali Parasnis, Associate Director- Western Regional Centre, TERI, Srikant Illuri, Executive Director & Country Head Investment, Business Sweden and Dr Christer Nygren, Professor of Innovation at Malardalen University, Sweden. The participants were evaluated through a rigorous process on parameters like the originality of idea, clarity of thoughts on financial and marketing aspects.

The winning team of Virendra Singh Shekhawat, Sagar Deshmukh, Shashank Angadi and Omkar Ranade presented a business plan for Exeger, a Swedish company that produces dye-sensitized solar cells. These cells can be affixed to the massive glass frontages of skyscrapers for garnering and storing solar energy which can be used by the building thereby not only creating solutions towards sustainability and saving of costs but breaking new grounds, by moving closer to the goal of liberating devises from the grid, making them self-powered. The WeSchool team provided a detailed roadmap for Exeger, developing business strategies to ensure utmost support to their respective partner companies and adherence to the timelines thereby developing the best business solutions to enter the Indian market with their product.

The winning team will be rewarded with a fully sponsored 10 day internship giving them an overview of corporates in the green energy sector in Sweden. The first runner-up team devised strategies for FOV Biogas (provides customized biogas solutions) and two teams that worked with the Swedish corporates - Clean motion (electrical vehicle manufacturer) and Hi Nation (solar panels producers) bagged the second runner up position.

Prof Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool congratulated the participating teams and said, “It is heartening to see such innovative ideas coming from management students for a sector like renewable energy which is so crucial for socio-economic prosperity of India. If India has to provide energy for all by 2022, we have to work on all fronts; with newer and innovative technologies, research and international cooperation to bring the alternate sources of energy into mainstream. With foreign investors eager to enter Indian markets, joint inititatives like India-Sweden Innovations’ Accelerator play a crucial role in sensitizing the young talent to the constraints and challenges in the sector and design solutions to circumvent them. And they have come up with the brilliant suggestions in the shape of sustainable business models. I strongly believe that India Sweden Innovations’ Accelerator (ISIA) is a step in the right direction wherein students can work on challenges and opportunities leveraging mutual strengths and solutions created by them will design a better future for India and the planet”.