The grand finale of the biggest competition for young entrepreneurs, Hult at IOE OnCampus Finale was conducted on Feb 4. This event saw the presence of not only known names like Anushka Shrestha, Pawan Golyan, and Vidhushi Rana but a short video from the mayor of Lalitpur was also presented. The top 10 finalists had to compete to win the OnCampus Round, and the winning team would directly get to pitch their idea at the Regional Summit, which will be happening in Mumbai.
The event started at around 11:00, with welcome speeches and the introduction of guests and judges by host Larisha Lamichhane. Campus Director Bishal Bashyal gave the Welcome Note. There were speeches from the Dean of IOE, Prof Dr. Shashidhar Ram Joshi, Chairperson of Sneha Group, Bhawani Rana, and Pawan Golyan, the Chairman of Golyan Group, and NMB Bank.
Then there were words from representatives of title sponsor Masta Kala, followed by Makkuse, NMB Capital, and Sharad Craft. After clearing the rules for participants and judges, the host announced the first team that would make their pitch.
The 10 teams had made it to the finale after going through a rigorous competition with 70+ idea submissions, and 3 months of mentorships and training. All their hard work would be evaluated on the basis of 4 min pitch and 4 min Q&A. So the teams came one by one and made their pitch.
The judges' panel comprised Pranav Kumar Das, Head of Financial Services at Chaudhary Group, former Miss Nepal Anushka Shrestha, co-founder, and CEO at Makkuse, Priyanshi Jalan, the Creative Director at her brand, and Vidhushi Rana, Director of Marketing, Brand, and Design at GoldStar.
The finalists also brought prototypes along with them to show the judges their capabilities, and in their presentations, they had to explain the problem in the fashion industry and why their solution should be awarded the 1 million dollars. The judges gave suggestions and asked questions they had about the product and evaluated the teams according to them.
Some finalists could be seen beaming with excitement when Anushka Shrestha herself made remarks about the product being good and having potential. However, not all teams can hold the winning title, so the judges took some time to make their decision on which team deserved the win.
The winner was CNCissors, and their idea was to reduce the waste produced in the fashion industry due to cutting cloth into parts without arranging them. They considered what arrangement and orientation would produce minimum waste cloth, and used AI in their model to give suggestions. Their idea was loved by everyone and they will be representing their idea in Mumbai, as they have won the grand finale of the Hult Prize at IOE!
With the distribution of tokens of love and awards to sponsors, winners, volunteers, and committee members, the program came to an end.
