Subir Shukla, the Principal Coordinator in Ignus Pahal, was involved in improving education for marginalized children. After working for many years at the policy level and assisting various governments across Asia in improving the public education system, he realized that the lack of access to reading material in India was hampering the children's ability to develop reading skills. In 2017 he decided to open Manan Publishing to cater to this need. He was strapped for funds for the initial years and was looking at some financial assistance for the first three years. His immediate need was to evolve a strategy for generating funds.

The case highlights the significance of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in credit provisioning for companies and related problems. It revolves around Dr. Emandi Sankara Rao, who takes over as the CEO of Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI), an NBFC at a time when IFCI has had a sudden and sharp downturn in its performance due to high levels of non-performing assets (NPA). While mulling over various strategic choices for debt resolution, Dr. Rao decides to use the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC), a new legislation enacted by the government to address the issues of insolvency resolution in the corporate sector. Since the IBC provides for a creditor-led process of insolvency resolution and in a time-bound manner, Dr. Rao chooses to apply this to a powerful corporate group to which IFCI has a total exposure of INR12.97bn, with INR5.88bn under stress. The case details the challenges that Dr. Rao faces in this journey to resolve the issue of corporate insolvency.

Boond, a last-mile energy access company, was founded to serve the rural base of the pyramid market in India. The company operated in the two states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh(UP). It came face to face with multiple challenges like low purchase capacity, lack of awareness about solar technology and difficulty of reaching out to the remote consumers. Boond innovated its business model to provide customized solution for energy access at an affordable price along with doorstep servicing. It created social capital that facilitated the collectivity of the stakeholders like banks, suppliers, grassroots organizations and community. This led to energy access and had a multi-dimensional impact on human well-being (health, education, employment, etc.), thereby improving lives of many. The challenge for Boond is in scaling up its business model for energy access to the other Indian states, each of which pose unique challenges along with varying environmental factors.

On a visit to her ancestral village in India, an entrepreneur found that maintaining the sanctity of traditional Madhubani paintings was no longer something that artists considered worthwhile. In the name of contemporary art, the traditional style of this world-famous Indian art was being distorted. However, artists were willing to switch back to traditional techniques of creating art as long as their livelihood needs were met. In late 2010, Mithilasmita was set up as a folk art gallery from where artists’ works could be marketed and they could earn decent money. In 2012, the organization registered as a private limited firm. This was a start, but a question remained: How could Mithilasmita capitalize on the pro-artisan initiative of the All India Handicrafts Board and geographical indication rights of Madhubani paintings in building up a sustainable business, preserving traditional art and achieving social objectives?