A team of four teenage entrepreneurs have been chosen to represent Chennai in a business plan competition, which is to be held next month in Washington DC.
Roshini Ramkumar and Meenakshi Ramkumar from Abacus Montessori School, Shruti Jhaver from Sishya School and Sruthi Krishnamurthy from Senior Secondary School, will be part of one of the four chapters from India, which will be represented at the TyE (TiE Young Entrepreneur) 2013 Global Business Plan Competition, that will see the participation of 16 teams from across the world, including the UK and the US.
The business plan the students will be showcasing at the competition would offer end-to-end services, including hospitality and postoperative care to patients from across the globe.
The enterprise named ‘Prathipad,’ meaning ‘access’ in Sanskrit, has already established tie-ups with major private healthcare providers such as Apollo and Fortis.
As a part of the “for-profit social organisation,” the students have set aside 25 per cent of the net profit earned through the venture, to help the underprivileged in India gain access to quality medical care.
Elaborating on how their model would help poor patients gain access to the ‘Prathipad Impact Fund’, the leader of the team, Roshini Ramkumar, said, “We are working closely with government hospitals and doctors to make sure that deserving people, whose backgrounds will be checked by an independent panel, get access to the funds required for their care.”
Sruthi Krishnamurthy (16), the youngest member of the team, added, “We want to strongly state that we are working towards the purpose beyond profit.”
CEO of myBschool.com and TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) coordinator Swaminathan, speaking on the importance of young business pioneers, said: “For me, entrepreneurship is nation building. Because rather than being job seekers, here are four kids who are going to be job providers.”