How does the competition work?
The Business LaunchPad Competition (BLP) team will conduct countrywide awareness campaign to distribute information, entry forms and offer vital tips on business plan writing. Entrepreneurs interested in participating in the BLP will also have their questions answered during these events. Please contact the BLP helpdesk on 445 4440/1/2 or 072 059 9211. See awareness training schedule
Competition Phases
Phase I – Launch
- Launch of Business LaunchPad Competition and website www.businesslaunchpad.co.ke on 5 July 2011
- Call for bussiness plan entries
- Distribution of entry forms, and publicity materials across the country.
Phase II – Awareness and Training
Business plan competition awareness and training workshops will be conducted in the above 20 towns. These workshops will run from 9am - 2pm.
The competition entry period opens on 5 July 2011
All entries must be submitted by 5pm on 14th September 2011.
Phase III – Screening and Judging of Entries
Executive summaries of all entries will be reviewed by a panel to identify the top 100 business plans. The results of the finalist will be announced on 5 October 2011 and published on 6 October 2011 in the Business Daily newspaper. The selected finalists will be invited to an intensive one week training session, at the end of which they will present their business plans before an experienced panel for the final judging and ranking.
Phase IV – Winners Event
The most outstanding business plans from each category will be announced at a winner's event. All the winners will be featured in Business Daily.
Judging
One or more of our panel of business plan judges will evaluate your business plan in a methodical and professional manner. After the closing date, your entry will enter the preliminary judging stage. In this stage, the judges will consider whether your business plan complies with the entry Terms and Conditions, as well as the quality and content of the plan.
If notified that you have been selected as a finalist, you will be invited for intensive training at the national level and then proceed to the next round of judging.
The entries will be reviewed and judged according to the following criteria:
- Quality of product(s), service(s) and/or solution(s) the business proposes to offer;
- Market opportunities and competitor analysis;
- Overall innovativeness, uniqueness and attractiveness of the venture;
- Growth potential of the business;
- Potential of the business for job creation;
- Viability of the business idea.
