‘Dreamvestor’ was created to help people turn their business Ventures into profitable businesses
The state government announced an innovative idea contest dubbed Dreamvestor, with the first prize of Rs 5 lakh, for prospective entrepreneurs and business aspirants to present their concepts to an eminent panel and explore the possibility of converting their concepts into business ventures.
While officially launching the contest at Mascot Hotel here, Industries Minister P Rajeeve stated that the selected ideas would be provided with necessary handholding support such as access to incubation space in government-owned Business Incubation Centres, mentoring support to overcome challenges, access to seed capital assistance, and market linkages. “The state government has designated the fiscal year 2022-23 as the ‘Year of Entrepreneurship.’ The contest is being held as part of the Department of Industries and Commerce’s entrepreneurship development initiatives,” he added.
The minister stated that the government has been developing policies to encourage youth entrepreneurship in order to prevent brain drain, which jeopardizes the economy’s long-term sustainability while also causing social imbalances by leaving no children to care for aging parents. A P M Mohammed Haneesh, Principal Secretary, Industries, and S Harikishore, Director, Industries, and Commerce, were also present. Prospective innovators from various sectors in the state will have the opportunity to submit their ideas as well as marketing plans beginning November 24 through the contest’s official website – www.dreamvestor.in.
A panel of judges will evaluate the ideas/concepts submitted through the website, and the top 100 ideas/concepts will be given the opportunity to elaborate on their ideas in the quarter-finals. Selected 50 ideas/concepts will be considered in the semi-finals, and the best 20 will be chosen for the finals. Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 35 (as of October 31, 2022) and must be from Kerala. Each contestant can only submit one business idea/concept. Ideas that have previously won awards should not be submitted. The ideas for the first round must be submitted between November 24 and December 23. From December 27 to January 15, 2023, they will be shortlisted. On January 18, the 100 contestants for the next round will be announced.
From January 20 to 30, 2023, two-minute pitch elevator videos will be submitted; ideas will be shortlisted from February 2 to 6, and the 50 contestants will be announced on February 8.
In round three, marketing plan details will be accepted from February 10 to 12, while ideas will be shortlisted from February 13 to 16. The names of 20 finalists will be announced on February 20th. The final round of the competition will be held offline in Thiruvananthapuram on March 1, 2023. The first-place winner will receive Rs 5 lakh, while the second and third-place winners will receive Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively.
