XPRIZE expands into India

GLOBAL leader in incentivized prize competitions XPRIZE is launching multiple prizes in India in the next few years.

The India programme will cover water, energy, waste management, and food and nutrition. The first prize will address water sustainability and will be launched in 2015 with the support of Coca-Cola India.

The expansion into India was announced at an event in Mumbai attended by some of the country’s most influential business leaders, including Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus, Tata Sons and trustee at XPRIZE. The “Visioneering” process held during the event included brainstorming sessions to identify which of India’s Grand Challenges can be solved through incentivized prize competitions. These sessions involved corporate leaders, philanthropists, heads of innovation, and XPRIZE Trustees.

Mr Tata said, “We are bringing XPRIZE to India with the belief that the next big innovations to solve some of the world’s Grand Challenges will come from India, directly impacting millions of people at the base of the pyramid. Through XPRIZE, we want to tap into this promise of potential and possibility.”

According to XPRIZE global expansion programme director Zenia Tata, India was chosen as the first geographic location outside of the U.S. for launching the global development prizes because India has technological and entrepreneurial capacities like no other country in the world.