HSBC awards young entrepreneurs

Sanjay Prakash, second from left in the back row, chief executive officer of HSBC in Bangladesh, poses with the winners of HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards 2011 at Lake Shore Hotel in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: HSBC

HSBC yesterday awarded three wining teams at the Bangladesh finale of HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards (YEA) 2011.
The award ceremony was held at Lake Shore Hotel at Gulshan in Dhaka.
The teams were given gold, silver and bronze awards with cash prizes along with a chance to participate in a weeklong entrepreneurial tour in Hong Kong in June.
The gold award went to Stalwarts, a team of students from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) under Dhaka University, for their project CocoCrete that offers eco-friendly, high-strength but low-cost concrete using coir fibres from coconut husks to make buildings more resistant to earthquakes.
The gold team will also compete with other best teams from Brunei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Shanghai and Thailand for the regional championship.
The team Entrepreneurs from the faculty of business studies at DU clinched the silver award for their project Greennovationn. The project offers an environment-friendly, geographically sustainable and cost-effective housing material, made from jute.
The bronze award went to Niloy, a group from the IBA. The team was awarded for their project Mini Water Treatment Plant that removes arsenic, pathogens and bacteria from water effectively and inexpensively.
Congratulating the winners, Sanjay Prakash, chief executive officer of HSBC in Bangladesh, said: “We are proud to present the platform for these young talents to demonstrate their creativity in an international level.”
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, deputy managing director of Pran-RFL Group, was present at the event as the chief guest.
For the local competition, HSBC staff visited different universities of Bangladesh and invited students' teams to submit their business ideas for the competition.
Around 300 teams from all over Bangladesh sent their ideas, where judges selected the best 30 for the second round. HSBC arranged special workshops and trainings for these 30 groups to help them turn ideas into detailed business cases.
Seven teams were chosen for the final round. After a final grooming by HSBC experts, three were selected as the winners on the basis of the merit of the business proposals, in-depth understanding of business concepts, commercial viability, innovation and presentation skills.
The award was launched for students in Hong Kong 11 years ago to encourage them in entrepreneurship with a specific focus on nurturing their innovation and creativity.