Why you should take part in business case competitions

Illustration: TBS

The challenge was to craft a distinctive real-life business solution. Not just an average one, but the solution would have to be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for a more sustainable future. From the four ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) themes:  Energy, Tech, Bio and Inclusions, the participants would have to choose one. 

Team Khichuri, a business competition team from IBA, University of Dhaka, chose energy. The team has four members - Abir Ershad, Mashrif Hasan Adib, Mohtasim Bin Habib and Shubhashish Chakraborty Turjoy. 

The team solved the case with Synergy – an energy initiative that produces biogas from waste. The gas can be used in cylinders as a sustainable cooking gas alternative. For this business solution, team Khichuri secured the champion title at the national level, among four other teams, at the 20th 'Battle of Minds' in 2023 – the flagship business case competition platform of British American Tobacco (BAT) in Bangladesh. 

Outside of Khichuri, over 3,800 participants from 22 universities participated in the competition. That included "Azor Ahai" – a collaborative team from the Army Institute of Business Administration (AIBA) and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) – and team "Twenty's Tenants" from Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP). 

Not just at the national level, the champion team competed against winners from 36 countries who participated in the global round in London. Team Khichuri grabbed the prize of first runner-up there, and the winners won £50,000 as a seed fund to catalyze the launch of the idea presented.

This is not the end of it. 

In the same year, Team Khichuri emerged as the first team in Bangladesh's business competition to win five competitions, including the Battle of Minds of BAT,  Bizmaestros of Unilever, and HSBC Business Case Competition.  

In the 2023 HSBC Business Case Competition, the team solved a business case related to the business operation of an East Asian music production company, 88 Rising. 

"Winning the competitions gave us a jumpstart into the professional arena. We got the opportunity to learn in a high-pressure situation that involved a real-world scenario. We came up with creative ideas as a team and presented them in front of industry leads," said Shubhashish Chakraborty Turjoy, one of the members of Team Khichuri. 

Also, they got the chance to network with executives and other people in their field. 

Now Abir Ershad and Mashrif Hasan Adib work at BAT. Meanwhile, Shubhashish Chakraborty Turjoy is doing an internship at Unilever and Mohtasim Bin Habib works in a bank.

What is a business case competition anyway?

It is a type of academic contest for business school students. Originating in the United States, such competitions are very popular now and are held all over the world. 

In business competitions, organisers prepare a business case or a situation that needs a solution. The participants break into teams of two or more people and find a solution within a time frame. 

The teams then read the business case and provide a solution. This solution is presented to judges in the form of a verbal or written analysis. The team with the best solution wins the competition.

Nanna-Freja Riis Larsen, director of people and organisation at Novo Nordisk, said in one of her articles published on LinkedIn, "Participating in such competition is a unique networking experience because you not only have the chance to meet and interact with representatives from a potential workplace, but you also have the opportunity to pick their brains regarding the work you have done on the case."

Such competitions also provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate their problem-solving skills, strategic thinking and collaborative talents, as well as to apply their academic knowledge to real-world circumstances. 

Nurturing the future business leaders of the country

HSBC Bangladesh has been implementing the HSBC Business Case Competition since 2013. It is part of HSBC's flagship Future Skills activity in Asia Pacific. The most recent edition of the programme was implemented in collaboration with the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka, which was aced by Team Khichuri in 2023.  

Through a series of selection rounds and workshops, the top five teams from different universities across the country present their business cases at the Grand Finale. From there, the country winners participate in the regional competition, the HSBC/Hong Kong University (HKU) Asia Pacific Business Case Competition in Hong Kong against participants from 24 countries.

According to Nowrin Islam, the Communications Manager of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Bangladesh, "The competition aims to nurture the country's future business leaders by helping them develop essential future-fit skills such as financial analysis, communication, public speaking and [skill to solve] business cases. The case competition enriches their experience of engaging in critical thinking and creativity.

It also enhances the business literacy of students by challenging them to come up with creative and feasible solutions to real-life business cases."

Saad Jashim, BAT Bangladesh's head of Talent, Culture, and Inclusion said, "We take immense pride in the 1,800+ alumni over the years. The core focus of Battle of Minds is to provide the participants with a contemporary experience that enables them to explore the world and test their true potential."

Who can participate and what do the organisers look for

Overall, there are two types of business case competitions: invitation-only competitions (where participants need to be invited) and competitions that are open to all. There are theme-based competitions as well. For example, the BAT competition had four ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) themes.  

For the HSBC competition, though, according to Nowrin Islam, any university student can participate but must participate in a group of four from the same university. 

Every year more than 20 universities participate in the competition from Bangladesh. They are judged on understanding key issues, business case analysis, evaluation of feasible alternatives, solutions and recommendations, implementation and plan of action,  handling of questions, presentation form and style, etc. 

Each team gets 12 minutes for a presentation and 10 minutes for a Q&A session on a selected topic. After that, the students are given four hours to solve a case given to them by a judges panel, related to the topic. The team also has to present it on the same day. In the next round, they present handwritten presentations as guided by Hong Kong University – to drive creativity.  

Are the winners offered jobs?

Nowrin Islam said, "The competition winners are not offered jobs but are encouraged to apply for job openings when they are advertised."

"Our problem-solving skills, the way we present an idea - everything counts. I feel it helped us get to the platforms where we are right now," Turjoy said. 

Also, the participants can attend workshop programmes to gain knowledge on problem-solving in real-life scenarios. 

"Last year, the champion, runners-up and second runner-up winners received team development funds of Tk 200,000, Tk 100,000, and Tk 50,000, respectively. This year, the winning team will have the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong for the regional competition. 

The international exposure helps the students develop networking skills, understand different cultures, and learn problem-solving skills," Nowrin concluded.