ET NOW-IndiaMART Leaders of Tomorrow Awards are back

Looking at this tremendous response, the last date for the nominations has been extended till mid-October.

Its that time of the year when we hear a lot of buzz in the SME space and a stirring within the entrepreneur fraternity. ET NOW-IndiaMART Leaders of Tomorrow Awards are back and in style with the Awards going regional in its fourth and latest edition.

The nominations for the Awards kicked off in July 2013 and have witnessed enthusiastic response from all corners of the SME space – they have already surpassed the last year’s figure of 75000 and are destined to create a new record this year. Looking at this tremendous response, the last date for the nominations has been extended till mid-October. Employing various mediums such as radio, print, online media and TV, no stone has been left unturned in connecting with maximum number of small businesses across all regions of the country.

Elated with the mark these awards have made in the Indian SME community, Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com said, “We started this extraordinary journey in 2010. We kept moving forward and SMEs continued to join our endeavour along the way. We have had more than 1.5 lakh entrepreneurs associate with us in these three years put together. To expand this family further, we decided to go regional this year and bring the spotlight on as many deserving SMEs possible. We are extremely delighted with the response these Awards have generated and are sure that they would create a new record of nominations this year.”

Once the nominations are closed, the process partners EY will follow the procedure of sorting and validating the financial credentials which will help in selecting top 100 MSMEs in each of the 14 categories on basis of pre-defined key parameters. The shortlisted top 20 nominees out of the top 100 will then face Regional Jury interactions in North, East, West and South respectively. The winners will then be felicitated in the Awards Ceremonies in these regions.

As the winners in their respective regions, they will prove their mettle one last time at the final round of selection. A Final Jury meet will be held in the year-end where the Jury will choose one national winner amongst the regional winners. If, due to unavoidable circumstances, any one of the regional winner is unable to attend the meet, the second best will be given an opportunity to compete for the coveted Award.

A Grand Awards Ceremony will be held that will celebrate the entrepreneurial passion amongst MSMEs. All the winners will be bestowed with the highest honour of Leaders of Tomorrow Award.

What has not changed is the show on ET NOW which continues to showcase exceptional stories of grit and determination of entrepreneurs. This season’s first show was telecast on August 27, 2013 and has had 4 episodes featuring business persons from industries such as Home Decor & Handicrafts, Textile & Apparel, Chemicals and Petrochemicals and Engineering Products.