KBank organizes Hackathon for secondary school students to showcase their innovative business ideas for sustainability – the winning team innovated with an inexpensive mealworm protein powder for everyone
KASIKORNBANK (KBank) hosted the “AFTERKLASS Business Kamp: Start Up for a Better Society Hackathon 2022” – a three-day camp for high school students. Participants were assigned to create a business plan and pitch their innovative business ideas for a more habitable and sustainable society. The champion was the DKRG Team which innovated with an affordable mealworm protein powder for everyone under the “NonTidLor” brand.
Rawee Angthong, KBank Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Relations Department, said, “KBank always strives to implement CSR activities through the AFTERKLASS platform, focusing on the provision of financial, investment, and business literacy for Thai youths aged 15-20 years old, as such older teenagers are poised to become a promising group of the working-age population, with the potential to drive the economy and society. Additionally, they have been found to be keen on becoming self-employed or an entrepreneur, and using innovative technologies.
With that in mind, KBank has organized the “AFTERKLASS Business Kamp: Start Up for a Better Society Hackathon 2022” to build skills, knowledge, and the concept for doing business among high school students who are interested in creating innovations. The hackathon offered them a chance to compete for prize money under this year’s concept that reflects the ‘Start Up for a Better Society’, with recognition placed on the importance of creating sustainability for society and the world.”
The AFTERKLASS Business Kamp was organized for the third consecutive year. More than 140 teams of high school students signed up, and only eight teams were selected for the three-day camp, where they learned how to create innovative business ideas that meet the needs of society in a sustainable manner. Moreover, participants had an opportunity to improve their problem-finding skills. Mentors were on hand to closely offer their advice. Techniques on how to create UX/UI that meet the customers’ needs, along with techniques to build a startup that can attract VC investment.
Competition results: The winner was the DKRG Team, which proposed a product under the “NonTidLor” brand – a 100% protein powder extracted from mealworms, offered at an affordable price for those who need protein consumption. The first runner-up was the Single Lead Team, which created the “KnowHere” application – a platform designed for secondary school students to explore their IT world with a roadmap as a route guide, a community for support, and a competitive stage to prepare for the real-world work experience.
The second runner-up was the Being Gimmick Team, which developed the “EduFlex” application to provide a teaching space for tutors in order to earn income while also allowing learners to study the courses of their interest at reasonable prices.
Other prizes awarded to winning teams included Teamwork for Better Society, Inspire for Better Society and Popular Vote. The combined value of prizes under the project topped 200,000 Baht.
ฃRawee added, “This is the first year that KBank endeavored to cultivate business ideas for youths to live in harmony with the sustainable world. The activity is in alignment with KBank’s commitment in adopting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as key principles in developing our business plans. We want to inspire youths to grow up with good citizenship, social responsibility and contribution, thus making further improvements to our society and the global community. Regarding our next project, KBank is prepared to continually promote and arrange a stage for development of the new gen’s potential, while also expanding our activities to achieve more solid outcomes.
