Tata Trust i5 Pioneer Prize

In collaboration with StartupWave and Head Held High

9 August 2015

Rural
Focus

Agriculture Challenge
Challenge Decrease food wastage between farm and fork

Across India, nearly 50% of fruits and vegetables, 20% of cereals and 25% of meat rot before
consumption. The bulk of losses occur at the farm-gate or in transit

The value of annual losses exceeds US$ 42 billion in India1; At a monetization assumption of 2%
of losses, annual market opportunity could be US$ 800 million

Problem
Context Key spoilage drivers for cereals are moisture, temperature and pests, and for perishables (fruits,
vegetables, milk, meat etc.) are the lack of packaging and refrigeration
Farmers are often exploited to sell their perishable goods at extremely low prices due to
absence of cold storage and affordable transport facilities
Solutions should have technology elements to support scale but at the same time work in rural
settings i.e. in low telecom bandwidth, limited smart phone penetration, irregular power supply
and limited tech-literacy

Solution
Solutions should either empower and engage small-holder farmers directly for sustainable
Space
growth or farmer-friendly aggregators such as producer groups and cooperatives

Solutions should ideally be commodity specific (e.g. cereals or milk etc.) since the specific users
and challenges involved in each commodity value chain will vary

Examples
Prometheus power solutions: solar-powered bulk milk coolers for use in rural India
of
Logistimo: mobile and web-based supply chain management solutions designed for rural settings
Solutions
Intellecap 2015. All rights reserved

Sources: 1: FAO, 2: At median FAOSTAT

prices, 2014

Rural Skilling/Career Creation Challenge

Rural
Focus

Challenge Create career opportunities for young people in rural India

Over 70% of Indias population are in rural India, but career prospects in these regions are
limited with only 53% of employable population able to find full-time work1

In fact, unemployment rates in rural India have grown over the past year from 4.4% to 4.7%;
since 93% of rural households benefit from MGNREGA the actual figure is much higher2

Problem
Context Low industrial activity is the key driver of rural unemployment which is in turn a result of low
market potential (population and consumption power) and high cost of doing business
Rural youth also face a skilling gap that impacts their employment prospects, and most current
skilling initiatives are focused on retail and IT jobs in cities instead of rural areas
Solutions should have technology elements to support scale but at the same time work in rural
settings

Solution Solutions should cater to the entire spectrum of employment challenges ranging from skilling
to certification to connections to industry/opportunities while keeping a focus on long term career
Space
building and not just immediate employment
Solutions could either seek to create jobs or create entrepreneurship opportunities in rural
regions itself so that entrepreneurs dont need to migrate to urban areas

Examples Head Held High: builds careers in rural India for young people through talent transformation,
of entrepreneur development and market-linked employment creation
Solutions Rural shores: rural business process out-sourcing company that seeks to create jobs in rural India
Intellecap 2015. All rights reserved

Sources: 1,2: Labour Bureau, Labour Ministry,

2015

Rural + Urban
Focus

Healthcare Challenge
Challenge

Affordable diagnosis and monitoring of non-communicable

diseases such as diabetes for low-income communities
India is increasingly facing a double disease burden with infection rates of communicable
diseases remaining high in most states while lifestyle-linked non-communicable diseases
(NCDs) are growing as well

Problem Today, over 20% of all years of life lost (YLL) in India are due to NCDs, while in 1990, this figure
was less than 10%1
Context
Two non-communicable diseases with highest prevalence in India are diabetes and cardiovascular disease both of which require regular medical care and attention that is not affordable
and often not even affordable for communities that live at the BoP
Solutions should have technology elements to support scale but at the same time work in rural
settings or urban slum settings
Solutions could focus on either diagnosis or monitoring or both, and should ideally include an
element of preventive care as well

Solution
Space Solutions should empower and engage community health workers (ASHA workers) and
grassroots organizations for scale and sustainability

Solutions should not have a high degree of reliance on healthcare infrastructure which is difficult
to access in rural areas/urban slums e.g. hospitals, doctors, and trained technicians

Examples Forus Health: Integrated, non-invasive eye diagnostic platform that can detect diabetic retinopathy
of amongst 5 major eye conditions
Solutions Dimagi: mobile-based health monitoring platform focused on empowering front-line health workers
Intellecap 2015. All rights reserved

Sources: 1: Global Disease Burden profile,

India

Format to Submit your Solutions to tatai5prize@gmail.com

Answer 4 Major Questions

Accepted Formats

1) What is the specific problem you want to

solve?
Note: Problem must be specific more specific than the
challenge statement shared

4-5 PowerPoint
slides

2) What are the current solutions available and

what gaps/whitespaces do you see?
Note: Consider both government and private sector solutions
while identifying gaps or whitespaces

3) What is your scalable and sustainable

solution to solve the problem?

OR

Note: Solution must be in the form of a business or a social

enterprise model that can sustain itself without grants

4) What is your 12 month roadmap to convert

your solution to an operational venture?

1-2 Word
Document Pages

Note: Assuming you have all the financial resources required,

create a month-wise 1 year roadmap

Intellecap 2015. All rights reserved

Timelines
Introductory workshop
8 August

Applications opened
9 August

Submission deadline
18 August

3 winners announced
23 August

Finalists pitch to
grand jury
23 August

10 finalists
announced
20 August

All 10 finalists
compete for 5 lakh
outcome-based grant
September February

Intellecap 2015. All rights reserved

Contact

Hyderabad
5th Floor, Building 8-2-682/1
Banjara Hills Road No 12
Hyderabad 500034, India
Ph. No. +91 40 4030 0200

Mumbai
13A, Techniplex-II IT Park, 6th Floor
Off Veer Savarkar Flyover, Goregaon West
Mumbai - 400062, India

dipika.prasad@intellecap.com
mukund.p@intellecap.com
www.intellecap.com