The Wharton India Start-up Competition is scheduled to take place at the 20th Wharton Indian Economic Forum (WIEF), on January 5 at St. Regis Hotel, Phoenix Mills, Mumbai. WIEF is an annual student-run India-focused conference hosted by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Participating sectors
The majority of the entries came from sectors like e-commerce, travel, consumer Internet, and other sectors like social, healthcare, not-for-profit and hardware. Over 750 applications were received. Of these, 20 semi-finalists were shortlisted, and from those, ten finalists have been selected who will be pitching at the Forum in Mumbai.
The Wharton India Start-up Competition - part of the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) aims at providing start-ups a platform to showcase their ideas. Following the forum, the annual full day conference in Philadelphia, USA is planned for March 25.
The competition
“We truly believe that Indian start-ups are driving the next phase of growth in the Indian and world economy, and want to be on the ground to understand what exactly is happening. The growth of Indian start-ups is having drastic impact on American companies as well. The Wharton India Start-up Competition is giving its applicants the best of both worlds. Amongst all the leading American business schools, Wharton has the strongest ties and formidable presence in India. It is uniquely placed to support Indian entrepreneurs through its access to top class professors, mentors, and investors,” says Vikram Arumilli, one of the co-chairs of WIEF 2016 and a second year MBA student from the school.
“The competition will not just give the required nudge in the right direction but also allow these bright entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses and reach their true potential. The world today looks at India as an innovations hub. By giving them a platform so rich, it hopes that the winner and all applicants become inspiring examples for the global world of start-ups,” he added.