Mahindra Rise Prize: A million dollars in return for truly innovative ideas

Imagine a world where Isaac Newton hadn’t pondered about why the famous apple fell to the ground. Or a world where Benjamin Franklin hadn’t flown that kite on a stormy night. How different would our world be, today?

There are so many examples of people taking inspiration and ideas from their surroundings, only to change the face of innovation and technology forever.

But why has it been so long since India has created a world-class innovation?

Recently, Mahindra announced a USD one million cash prize for winners of the two new challenges under ‘Spark the Rise’. Mahindra Rise believes that the nation doesn’t have enough world-class ideas and has recently launched a TV-led campaign, created by Famous Innovations, to promote this initiative.

Firstbiz caught up Mahindra and Famous, to understand the workings of the initiative and the campaign better.

Said B. Karthik, general manager of corporate brand, Mahindra, said, “The Rise Prize is a direct application of the brand’s idea of challenging and inspiring people to stretch, to raise the bar and do more than they thought possible - to ‘rise’. We started the platform ‘Spark the Rise’ two years back, with the intent of making it a platform of choice for innovators, entrepreneurs and change-makers. The first two years saw programs in the grassroots space; this year we decided to extend the platform to cover the disruptive innovation end of the innovation spectrum. Thus was born the Rise Prize.”

The Rise Prize comprises two challenges - one is the creation of a ‘Driverless Car for Indian Conditions’ while the other is an ‘Affordable, DIY Solar Kit’.

Explaining the challenges and the expectations, Karthik said, “The Rise Prize has two challenges that are up and running right now, with each program having specifically defined deliverables. Apart from these two challenges, there are other “programs” offered by our partners that are also featured on the website. These programs also have a specific focus and defined eligibility criteria. People are free to browse the website and choose the program(s) that best suit their needs.

The Rise Prize will see more challenges in areas ranging from hi-end computing, healthcare, nanotechnology, water, agriculture etc. down the years. For now, we are focussing all our energies on the two challenges that are up.”

For the Driverless Car, participants must ensure that it is affordable to build and operate, scalable to different platforms and suitable for Indian roads and driving conditions, among others. The winning participants will get $700,000 as prize money.

The participants entering their ideas for the Solar Kit challenge, too, have to adhere to some important guidelines. For instance, self-installation by users, affordability with reduced space requirements form a major part of the requirements. Winners of this challenge will receive a prize of $300,000.

So far, 189 entries have been received in total, with 45 and 144 each in the Driverless Car and Solar Kit challenges, respectively.

Speaking to Firstbiz about the creative brief, Raj Kamble, chief creative officer, Famous Innovations said, “When this project began, the client’s brief to us was simple: there is not enough world-class innovation emerging from India, and Mahindra Spark the Rise wanted to change this.

Though they have been funding start-ups for a few years, this year they introduced a new series of challenges to push this goal. Their stance was that while India should be one of the innovation centers of the planet, we haven’t created anything truly world-beating since the zero.”

Karthik agrees. “We wanted the communication toinspireandchallengepeople to think big, to believe it is possible to build truly disruptive technologies in India. We used the insight that “ideas are everywhere, all around us” to build the communication. And to do this, we looked at some of the most inspirational discoveries/inventions in scientific history and contextualised them to communicate the message.”

The film is a montage of iconic discoveries and innovations from the past, set in an Indian context. It begins with a young girl sitting under a tree, when an apple falls on her shoulder. Next, a man is going into a bathtub, as the VO refers to Archimedes. Next comes a steaming cup of tea juxtaposed to a steam engine in the next scene. What follows are scenes of different ideas sparking from small actions - like sparks coming from between two lagori stones, a kite attracting electricity and ships disappearing over the horizon. The VO asks pertinent questions of the viewer - why do some just see a cup of tea, while others see possibilities? Ideas are everywhere around us; can the next big idea that changes the world come from right here? The ad then goes on to announce the million dollar prize for the next big idea.

Watch the ad here:

Kamble hopes that the TVC will be integral in drawing participants to the initiative. “Our hope is that the commercial can encourage young students and researchers by showing them that inspiration and a spark of brilliance can strike anywhere. Moreover, a big objective of the commercial was not just getting participants for the challenge, but also positioning Mahindra as a company actively trying to seed and fund innovation.”

Speaking about the kind of response Mahindra is expecting from participants, Karthik said, “Entries are open to individuals and teams that build the solution in India. We hope to see students, start-ups, R&D labs and teams that have members from all these three sources participating. We think the 2 challenges are best suited for individuals/teams who have entrepreneurial dreams - they will really benefit from participation.”

Apart from TV, the Rise Spark campaign will employ print, digital, on-ground and outdoor touchpoints.

WatchSP Shukla, president - group strategy and member, group executive board; chairman, Mahindra Innovation Academy and chief brand officer, Mahindra in conversation with Storyboard’s Animesh Das, about how the Group aims to create an ecosystem of innovation in the country.