A sea passenger transport service and a mini hydro scheme won honours at the inaugural Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Launch Pad held last Sunday which was aimed at 'promoting and encouraging budding entrepreneurs.'

Organised by the CIMA Students Society and open only to CIMA Students and Passed Finalists, the competition utilised a 'three segment format' in which only the first 20 business proposals were accepted and then reviewed by a panel of judges until four finalists remained, two in each of the Small Investment and Medium Investment categories. Last week proved the final opportunity for teams to impress the judging panel, which comprised top business personalities Dr. Nalaka Godahewa and Pravir Samarasinghe along with Suren Fernando, the recent Gold award-winning Business Leader at the Pinnacle Awards.

Culminating in a boardroom style confrontation, it was teams Boat Drift (Small Investment category) and Green Energy (Medium Investment category) that emerged victorious, each earning the CIMA Launch Pad 2008 trophy and a cheque for Rs. 100,000.

Small Investment category winner, team Boat Drift, comprising Sarah Afker, Sharika Mabarack, Keshini Munaweera, Gian Jayewardene and Harshini Halangoda, drew the judges’ attention with an idea for a sea passenger transport service. Meanwhile, Medium Investment winner, team Green Energy, consisting of Tanya Symon and Keshanee Gunewardena, introduced a proposal for the generation of clean energy by way of setting up of a mini-hydro power plant.

Commenting on the judging process, Dr. Godahewa made reference to the criteria used for scoring, which included creativity and originality of the ideas, feasibility and practicality, business plan details, business ethics and social responsibility, and presentation skills. Meanwhile, as a part of his critique of team performances, Mr. Samarasinghe highlighted some areas which could be further improved including better utilisation of time, more focus and time spent on the business concept and model, greater attention on opportunities and strengths, avoid too much time on the build up to the idea, as well as other areas. (JH)