A free, undergraduate-only business case programme open to every academic stream - teams of four from the same college work a real business case, with the top two teams funded to represent India at the HSBC/HKU Asia Pacific Business Case Challenge in Hong Kong.
Brabble editorialUpdated 13 Oct 2026
The India Business Case Programme (IBCP) is HSBC India's undergraduate employability initiative, now in its 13th edition for 2026-27, run in partnership with United Way Mumbai and Sattva Consulting. Unlike most case competitions that target management or engineering students specifically, IBCP is deliberately open to every undergraduate stream - commerce, arts, science, engineering, design, pharmacy, and five-year law programmes all qualify. Teams work a real business case designed to build career-readiness skills, and the strongest teams in India get funded to compete internationally at the HSBC/University of Hong Kong Asia Pacific Business Case Challenge. The programme is built to be inclusive: every undergraduate stream can enter, in teams of exactly four from the same college who may be from different years and streams. Registration ran from July to 6 October 2026 on the official site, and participants work through the programme's business case material before national evaluation; the top two Indian teams are funded to compete in Hong Kong at the HSBC/HKU Asia Pacific Business Case Challenge. Every participant gets a certificate and exposure to industry leaders.
Students form a team of exactly 4 from the same college and submit the official registration form between July and 6 October 2026.
Registered teams work through the programme's business case material, building the practical career-readiness skills the initiative is designed around.
Teams are evaluated on their case work; the strongest teams in India are identified for the international stage.
The top 2 Indian teams travel to Hong Kong, fully funded, to compete against teams from across the Asia Pacific region for the international title and prize.
Step 01
The programme is open to every undergraduate stream, and teams are exactly four students from the same college. This advice is Brabble's synthesis, not an official rubric.
Step 02
The case builds career-readiness skills, so a clear approach matters more than a clever one.
Step 03
The strongest teams are chosen for the international stage in Hong Kong, so the presentation counts.
Representative practice - not leaked questions
01
A small bank wants to attract first-time borrowers in tier-2 cities. What do you recommend?
What to show: Customer segments and offers
02
How would you measure whether a financial-literacy programme works?
What to show: Impact measurement
03
What are the three biggest risks to your plan and how would you reduce them?
What to show: Risk thinking
04
Your team disagrees about the main recommendation. How do you decide?
What to show: Teamwork
05
Present your recommendation to a senior leader in two minutes.
What to show: Executive communication
What you actually get
Every participant receives a programme certificate and structured exposure to industry leaders, regardless of result. The top two Indian teams get their travel funded to Hong Kong for the HSBC/HKU Asia Pacific Business Case Challenge, where the winning team there receives USD 10,000. There is no PPI or direct hiring pipeline attached - the outcome is the case-solving credential, the certificate, and for a small number of teams, the international final itself.
Eligibility, team structure, dates, and outcomes checked directly against the official India Business Case Programme website (indiabusinesscaseprogramme.com), 25 Sep 2026. As of this date, registration was shown as open through 6 October 2026 - confirm current status on the official site, since this window will close. Preparation advice and practice prompts are Brabble's synthesis, not official material, and the listed sources were last checked on 13 Oct 2026.