In October 2026, Development Alternatives and its partners MDSS, SVSS, Impact Setu Sansthan and Renewify took Kaun Banega Business Leader (KBBL) further across Uttar Pradesh. KBBL is a business-idea competition that invites rural women and youth to share an enterprise idea. Shortlisted participants receive training and pitch their ideas to a jury. Winners and other shortlisted candidates are then supported to start or grow their businesses.

In Lucknow, a thematic Green and Clean-Tech KBBL campaign was launched on 13 October at Bakshi Ka Talab in partnership with Impact Setu Sansthan. More than 150 participants, mainly CLF leaders and cadres, took part despite a strike by cadres. Ideas ranged from vermicompost and biogas to plates made from sugarcane waste and e-rickshaw charging solutions. A ten-day campaign across six blocks followed, with camps reaching 570 people.

In Gorakhpur, KBBL was launched on 23 October alongside an UdyaME Mela. The event brought together 101 participants, including 28 entrepreneurs, with DIC, RSETI, Mahindra Finance and solar vendors. Women spoke openly about the financial support they needed. Documentation and unclear loan processes emerged as major barriers.

Elsewhere, the focus shifted from outreach to selection. In Bhadohi, four Gram Panchayat campaigns held on 9 and 10 October reached 890 people, and 547 forms were completed on the spot. In Prayagraj, SVSS trained 88 shortlisted participants on 15 and 16 October. Two-thirds of them were aged 35 or under.

In mid-October, Kaushambi held its closing event. From 1,597 registrations, 135 ideas were shortlisted and about 92 women were trained in three RSETI batches. Twelve entrepreneurs pitched to a six-member jury from RSETI, NRLM, LDM, JSS, DIC and Khadi Gramodyog. In Jhansi, 21 ideas have been shortlisted, among them a solar-powered flour mill, fuel logs made from cow dung and an RO water plant, ahead of a closing event in early November.

The ideas also varied by participant group and location. In Prayagraj, 46 of 70 CLF women proposed general stores, farming and livestock, while non-CLF youth suggested RO plants and CSC centres. Lucknow’s green framing drew ideas such as biogas and sugarcane-waste plates, and Jhansi’s shortlist includes a solar-powered flour mill.