One of the leading banks in Bangladesh, HSBC launched a business plan competition for undergraduate students yesterday. The contest, Young Entrepreneur Award (YEA) 2011, aims at promoting "creativity and innovation and sharpen the business knowledge of young students beyond their borders". "YEA will harness creative ideas and provide real-life exposure to the future entrepreneurs of the country," said Sanjay Prakash, chief executive officer of HSBC in Bangladesh, at the launch at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.

The procedure for taking part in the contest is very easy. Any interested team of two to three members can take part in the contest by submitting a business plan on the YEA website, www.asiayea.com, by February 10. Seven teams will be allowed to present their plans to a panel of experts after passing through two levels of screening and workshops on entrepreneurial skills and knowledge, said a statement. The best team will get Tk 75,000 as prize money. The second and third best teams will be awarded Tk 45,000 and Tk 35,000 respectively.

All the three teams will participate in a study tour in Hong Kong where the winner will compete in the regional grand finale in June. YEA's winners from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Shanghai, Philippines and Brunei will also participate in the finale.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/20 Jan 2011