Feature

HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards 2008-09
Bangladesh Grand Finale

Star Campus Desk

THE Final round of HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards (YEA) 2008-09 was held on 30 April 2009 at a local hotel. The seven finalist teams for the competition presented their business ideas in front of a panel of judges. The finalist team members were from BUET, IBA and Dhaka University- Faculty of Business Studies.

YEA was originally launched amongst students in Hong Kong nine years ago to encourage entrepreneurship, with a specific focus on nurturing innovation and creativity. The competition was launched in Bangladesh in 2006. Currently the competition is running in Brunei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

For the first round of the competition, undergraduate students from various universities of Bangladesh were asked submit their business plans. From the 215 business plans, 34 were selected for the second round and the respective teams submitted detailed business plans of their ideas. The seven best ideas were selected and judged for the final completion based on their depth of their understanding of business concepts, commercial viability, innovation, 'bankability' and presentation skills.

Three teams were adjudged as the Gold, Silver and Bronze prize winners at the Bangladesh grand finale. Team 'Viva La Vida' from IBA won the 'Gold Award' for their business ideas of solving the imminent water-crisis of Dhaka by harvesting rainwater, and providing clean, drinkable water for everyday use in domestic and commercial structures.

Team 'CMPI' from IBA and team 'Spartans BD' won the Silver and Bronze awards respectively. The three teams will be visiting Hong Kong for a weeklong entrepreneurial tour in June 2009.

The Gold team from Bangladesh will compete with the Gold teams from other countries in the Hong Kong Grand finale for the 'Best of the Best' award and a cash prize equivalent to BDT 8 lacs.

Abul Mal Abdul Muhith, Honourable Finance Minister, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh spoke on the occasion as the Chief Guest. He thanked HSBC for their role in organising such a program and wished the students success in all their future endeavours.