HULT Prize 2022-23
With India emerging as the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world (Economic Survey 2021-22), Entrepreneurship has become more than creating solutions. It is empowerment as it places the power to drive a nation’s economy in the hands of ordinary people.
To celebrate entrepreneurship and ideas, E-Cell IET Lucknow conducted the Hult Prize On-Campus Program 2022-23. The program successfully concluded with the Finale round on 13th January 2023.
Hult Prize is a global social entrepreneurship challenge conducted by Hult International Business School in association with the United Nations. It encourages university-level students to design a for-good, for-profit venture to solve a particular challenge presented to them. It is popularly acclaimed as the "Nobel Prize for students". Along with mentorship from the Hult Prize community, the winning team receives 1 Million USD in startup capital to incubate their idea.
The theme of 2023 challenged students to weave sustainability into the fashion industry's fabric. The participants had to choose an area of impact in the clothing and fashion industry and create a business idea that solves a key problem of this industry.
The organizing team of Hult Prize IET Lucknow took up the task of connecting the student community with this cause. Discussions, interactive sessions, and briefings were conducted under the On-Campus program which motivated the teams to devise ideas and participate.
An interactive Q&A session was conducted exclusively for first-year students on 17th December 2022 to clear their doubts. Questions like "What is a sustainable startup?", "How to research an idea?", "What are the problems in the fashion industry that could be solved through entrepreneurship?" came up. Our Campus Director Aditi Maloo and Deputy Campus Director Tushar Sharma answered all queries and explained the theme of the event. Existing sustainable fashion brands were discussed. In an energizing session, the quality of questions put up was amazing. The overwhelming response from the Freshers showed how excited they were to grab the opportunity.
Auctum: OOTD- a mock clothing auction event was conducted on 18th December 2022. Thrift clothes, shoes and accessories were presented virtually before the participating teams. The participants were provided with a purse value and they had to put their bids on the clothing items to create a sensible outfit. The team which creates the best outfit while scoring maximum points wins.
The purpose of the event was to make Thrifting- a popular choice and promote the idea that good quality, gently-used clothes shouldn't just be dumped; they can and must be reused. This not only increases their longevity but also saves a lot of resources. This concept aligned with the theme of the Hult Prize is one idea that sparks another and gives way to numerous possible solutions
To give our student community a clue about how sustainable brands are incepted, a Speaker Session by founders of Lucknow-based sustainable fashion brand Greenwear, Mr Abhishek and Mr Pratiyush, was conducted on 18th December. The speakers founded Greenwear in 2016 with the vision to produce high-quality, economical fabrics and apparel using renewable energy. The brand spins yarn on solar charkhas, weaves textiles on solar looms and makes clothing on solar-powered sewing machines. In a deeply insightful session, Greanwear's journey from an idea to brand creation; from launching two showrooms in Lucknow to making it to e-commerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart, inspired our audience to come up with their ideas integrating technology and fashion.
The timeline of the On-Campus was announced on 5th January 2022. The participants had to go through a two-step evaluation process to make their way to the Finale. Round 1 had them submit an executive summary of their idea. In Round 2, teams were shortlisted for the Finale round based on their presentations.
The Finale saw teams from our college pitching their business plan to an esteemed jury of Mr Abhishek Pathak, Ms Sakshi Mehri, and Ms Dimple Joshi.
Mr Abhishek Pathak is the founder of "Greenwear Private Ltd". Ms Sakshi Mehri is a professor at the Institute of Design and Research, Lucknow. Ms Dimple Joshi is Senior Project Consultant at Ernst & Young LLP, Stations at Khadi Bhawan
The teams came up with impressive pitches to positively impact the fashion value chain. Three of them captured the judges’ attention- SAPling, Innovative fashionistas, and Ingenious Minds were declared the winner, 1st runner-up, and 2nd runner-up, respectively.
The winning team SAPling presented a business model that focussed on utilising waste banana trees to extract banana fibres, which could be used to produce sustainable, naturally-refreshing and comfortable lingerie for women. That there are only a handful of brands in the world that currently work on this model, brings forth the uniqueness of this idea and the creativity involved in shaping it.
The winning teams shall represent our college in the further rounds.
We wish the best for them and hope that entrepreneurs from our college may find inspiration in these ideas, to come up with their social enterprises.