We again anticipate a few more happy and glorious moments taking shape as one of our students, Ronak Gandhi, PGDM (Marketing) 2010-12 shares with us the  news of his selection  for Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC).

Ronak’s team is  one of 18 semi-finalist teams that advanced from the second round of application judging, selected from an applicant pool of 170 submissions from students in 49 countries at 128 universities. The finals of the competition will be held at University of Washington, Seattle from 27 February to 2 March 2012.

GSEC is a leading-edge international social venture plan competition, where interdisciplinary student teams from around the world propose creative, commercially viable businesses aimed at reducing poverty in the developing world. It is an excellent platform to showcase business ideas and to learn about innovative social business ideas at a global level. It is an avenue to develop social ideas which will benefit marginalized sections at a global level.

Ronak plans to showcase, share and promote, ‘Srujna’, his social initiative which aims at creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for marginalized women through the vocational training of jewellery making and providing market linkage’. And to make it happen effectively the enterprise plans ‘to develop business models using innovation and technology to bridge the gap between the market and the underprivileged, profitably’.  As Srujna  takes it baby steps towards the  envisaged goals, it has already  implemented its pilot project in a shelter home and providing  vocational training in  jewellery making to rescued victims of human trafficking.

Each year, GSEC brings together a good number of teams of student teams from around the globe to Seattle for GSEC Week.  GSEC Week provides teams a world-class practical learning opportunity that includes visits to leading Seattle organizations, coaching and refinement of the business plan and pitch, valuable exposure to an extensive network of professionals, and dynamic cross-cultural interactions.

Ronak has with him the support of Vaishali Gandhi, and Jyotika Bhatia who are pursuing courses in social entrepreneurship from different institutes of the city. But out of the trio, only Ronak and Vaishali will be attending the Seattle competition next week.

Sharing his  thoughts on the support he received on campus, Ronak said,  “I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Prof. Jalpa Thakker and other faculty members at Welingkar Institute for providing me with constant support and necessary resources for participating in the competition.”

We wish you and your team all the very best, Ronak .