MUMBAI: UTVi, the English business news channel, and technology brand Dell have joined hands to commemorate the “Indian spirit of entrepreneurship.”

Titled “Take Your Own Path”, the alliance will urge business owners to share their story to success.

UTVi, which started the initiative, said that it is directed towards the entrepreneurial owners of India’s small and medium businesses (SMBs) and future leaders from various business schools across the country.

UTV News Ltd CEO Shantonu Aditya said, “With this powerful partnership, we look forward to bringing out many stories of inspiration, belief and business acumen that hold the key to India’s entrepreneurial tomorrow”

The alliance is powered by Young Indians (Yi), a part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). They will be facilitating UTVi and Dell India to create a platform to engage young Indians and help them shape the Indian entrepreneurial future.

“India has a terrific entrepreneurial spirit– the successful big and small Indian entrepreneurs have made India the success it is. After our ‘Take Your Own Path’ campaign, we are seeking out more Indian entrepreneurial heroes with the Dell Small Business Excellence Awards. Dell and UTV – both first generation start-ups – have a special affinity for entrepreneurs, and we are delighted that UTVi has joined us in this search for excellence in small and medium businesses across India”, said Dell India GM – SMB Ravi Bharadwaj.

The initiative will be held in three phases. Phase one will comprise a joint initiative between Dell India and UTVi as a special 6-part series. The episodes will showcase the stories of individuals who have made it to the top.

Phase two will communicate with the entrepreneurial community at large to participate in the Dell Small Business Excellence Awards and share their own entrepreneurial journeys, business stories and innovative uses of technology with UTVi Business News. The top ten finalists from the entries will be featured as a part of special series on UTVi. The national winner will receive $25,000 from Dell technology and services, a best-practice sharing session with Michael Dell and Dell experts and an opportunity to be a part of the UTVi series on air.

These winners will also get the chance to compete for the global award worth $50,000 in Dell solutions. Yi will be supporting this communication by its contribution to the evaluation process.

Phase three will run parallel with phase two; UTVi and Dell will launch a nationwide business plan competition across Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Lucknow, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Budding entrepreneurs and post graduates can present their ideas and business plans to a joint jury in each city. The evaluation of ideas and process formulation will be done jointly by Dell India, UTVi Business News and CII Yi.

Added UTVi COO Sumit Gupta, “With a three stage campaign flow and a multi media engagement, we approach segments like young students and budding entrepreneurs across industry verticals. We hope to involve these inspiring individuals with the channel and to set the stage for many more stories to follow.”