Hult Prize at Thammsat Project aims to urge startups to develop social businesses

Hult Prize, one of the world’s largest student-run social business ideas contest, aims to create social business models that can genuinely generate profits and make changes to society. Through the collaboration of Hult International Business School, United Nations, and Education First, the project has been implemented since 2010 and have sparked business ideas to ​​more than a million students worldwide to do startup businesses that help tackle social problems.

This year’s theme for the contest is “Developing an Idea to Provide Meaningful Jobs to 10 Million Young People within the Next Decade” as to inspire startup to create solutions that solve youth and unemployment problems. This is the first time that Thammasat University has joined the project. Since inception, activities have been organized for students, including training on social entrepreneurship, social innovation, social business models, and Theory of Change from the lecturers and experts who have direct experience in doing social businesses in Thailand.

Internal Pitch has been arranged recently to select the startup business ideas that can solve the problems related to Youth and Unemployment issues. Out of all contestants, only four teams have been selected. There were a panel of experts and representatives from the National Innovation Agency (Public Organization), Ministry of Science and Technology, or NIA joined as the judging committee.

The four teams who could enter the final round include The Party Liable ‘Hired’ team– the training centre and jobs solutions that help less-fortunate youths to get hired like other people. Youths will get job training and technical training. Once they passed the learning and training, they would get hired from business alliances of the project.

Second, the Wallflower team who comes up with its ‘Passion Pool’ – a digital platform that aims to establish networks among youths and SMEs as to widen opportunities for youths to get on-the-job training and part-time jobs. Youths can apply for a job though the platform that uses Big Data and algorithm which will enable them to access the sources of information and link with online educational institutes and private organization that are business alliances of the project.

Third, 4All team – the startup with specializes in service designs and provide training for juvenile offenders to help them get employment opportunities. It also helps design CSR-based services for companies or organizations by addressing the social issues to challenge organizations to develop CSR activities that help these youths to learn and develop their competency. The platform derived from the collaboration of global alliances including DSIL, GSSE, Full Circle Filament, EDC, and Wedu.

Fourth, the ‘ReYouth’ Jelly Bear Consulting team which is a shoes producer that provides young people with employment opportunities, along with solutions that tackle the problems of unnecessary resources. It focuses on recycling of footwear to create environmentally friendly products.

After this, the four finalists will enter the Final Pitch on Saturday 17th November at C ASEAN to represent Thailand at the Asia Regional Championships in Shanghai, China, during 11-15 March, 2019, to be selected as representatives from Asia to join the Accelerator Program in London, United Kingdom, and get prepare for the global competition further.

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