How SMB Heroes works
Applications open from 8th March to 24th April, 2017
Applications for SMB Heroes 2017 are open to businesses all over India. From local retailers to manufacturers, service providers, restaurants and startups - the kind of business doesn’t matter, but its impact does. If you have a story that showcases the power of digital in driving growth and improving the lives of Indians, it could change the way a thousand more businesses work.
The SMB Heroes contest will be phased across 2 rounds:
- Regionals - May, 2017
- Nationals - June, 2017
The final winners of the contest will be announced at a finale in Delhi in June, 2017.
SMB Heroes will be chosen across 3 categories
Woman Business Leader
Honouring the visionary women who have empowered themselves to not just lead their organizations but have also leveraged digital to achieve exceptional business growth.
Business Innovation with Digital
Recognizing businesses that have leveraged the power of digital to influence the way they engage with customers, gain access to markets or derive productivity gains and transformed the way they work.
Impacting Change with Digital
Celebrating businesses that have gone beyond business growth by impacting the lives of people around them whether it’s helping students in rural locations, or empowering artisans to gain access to fair markets, or even providing financial inclusion to the underbanked.
Scoring Process
Each entry is judged against the following criteria:
Digital Savviness: What role does the applicant see technology playing for their organization?
Impact of digital on their business and beyond: How has the internet impacted the applicant’s business as well as a larger community beyond it?
The First Round – Regional
The first round of SMB Heroes will be conducted at the regional level across 5 zones, with submissions evaluated by a jury of Google India's business leaders. Three businesses from each region will be selected on the basis of predefined criteria - one for each category.
The Roadshows - May, 2017
SMB Heroes goes on the road. The selected businesses from each region are revealed at roadshow events at important local business hubs across the country.
● Mysore ● Panaji ● Ahmedabad ● Chandigarh ● Kolkata
The Final Round – National
National Finale June, 2017
In this round, all the regional SMB Heroes will compete at the national level. All their submissions will be evaluated by a jury of industry experts, selected by Google to judge the competition.
The Finale jury will comprise of one representative from an industry body, one representative from Google and three independent parties. The jurists will evaluate competition submissions against a set of predefined judging criteria through scoring and roundtable discussions.
Prizes
Regional winners
Feature in next year's SMB Heroes, 2018
Admittance in an executive education course
National winners
Trip to Google APAC HQ in Singapore
Google will publish and promote your business story
Feature in next year's Digital Unlocked and in next year's SMB Heroes, 2018
Admittance in an executive education course