Competing for the Sankalp-Artha Grand Prize Award are enterprises that together form a vibrant mix of companies looking to solve important grassroot problems, from ‘bio-breaks’ to ‘honey traps’ and more.

At the Sankalp Unconvention Summit 2013, startups in the space compete not just for recognition and cash prizes but also to catch the eye of impact investors, hidden among the 1,000 odd delegates that are attending India’s biggest international social entrepreneurship summit at The Renaissance Powai in suburban Mumbai.

It’s hard to favour one over another. But the hottest favourites this year seem to be Banka Bioloo, a social enterprise that is the first to commercialise Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Bio-digester technology for human waste management, and Barrix Agro Sciences, which has revolutionised pest management with its pheromone product.