The Innovation Challenge is open to all unconditionally accredited and pre-accredited members of the YBI network and there is no limit to the number of applications each member can send.
Members can send individual applications or work together to create joint applications with other eligible members of the network, as long as one of the organisations leads the application and takes full responsibility for the management of the project if their application is successful.
Two or three winners will be selected to implement the project during a period of 6 months.
Participating organisations must be able to implement the project (focused on the development of the MVP – Minimum Viable Product of the new product or service) between November 2019 and May 2020, and be able to report their results in January, April 2020 and June 2020.
Organisations which are not part of the YBI Network as of 30th June 2019 are not eligible to enter the Challenge as either a lead or supporting organisation.
A change in the applicant’s accreditation status during any phase of the Challenge period risks cancellation or disqualification. YBI will also evaluate the feasibility of awarding a prize to the third or fourth place finalist in the case of a project cancellation.
In this edition of the Innovation Challenge, an Innovation Fund of US$ 80,000 will be available for the winning ideas. Each applicant will need to submit a detailed budget as part of their application, limited to US$40,000 per application.
Winners will take part in an acceleration programme, led by Bob Dorf, one of the most knowledgeable Lean Innovation and Customer Development experts in the world.
All eligible members interested in participating in this year’s Innovation Challenge are invited to submit an Expression of interest. You will be required to present the idea you would like to work on, the potential partners and other members involved, and preliminary data/evidence that indicates the problem exists.
Projects selected in the previous phase will be invited to submit a full proposal. As part of your application, you need to provide evidence of the problem validation, the proof of concept and present an MVP draft. You will also be asked to submit a video pitch (through a Youtube link) explaining the problem which the proposed project would address, how the applicant has validated the problem and finally the product/service idea.
The selection process consists of three phases:
Winners will sign a grant agreement with YBI and are expected to both develop and test a minimum viable product and produce an alpha version of the product or service. The grant will be allocated in three instalments starting in November upon being named winners, and moving through checkpoints near the end of January and March.