Witnessing and listening to the Entrepreneurship talk series of Hult Prize at IOE NxtGen and watching the participants giving their best to own the Hult Prize 2020/21 was a beautiful experience. Like every film lover (like me), climax determines its worthiness; the finale of the Hult Prize at IOE exhibited its no-doubt-feel-proud worthiness of being one of the great teams to conduct such an exciting event. The Finale was not just about pitching ideas and impressing the judges; it gave the small dosages of entertaining capsules in between for the audiences.
Mesmerizing Musical Session
It's a fact that the world understands and gets connected with the language of love and music. Music can make us feel cheerful, sad, excited, scared well as relaxed. The finale brought the many singers and musicians to remove the monotonousness and provide pleasure to our ears. Swoopna Suman, Shreya Katuwal, Vesaj Timalsina, Kesang Shrestha gave their hypnotizing musical numbers on the zoom screen. Likewise, pioneers of NepHop, Girish Khatiwada and Sudin Pokharel (DA69), shared their journey and experiences to make NepHop take a pace.No only that Indian singer Mr. Rahul Pandey also gave us his beautiful singing.
Guests/Performers Profile:
Swoopna Suman
Swoopna Suman is well known and one of the most exciting music stars in the Nepali Music industry. He is best known for his top hit songs “The Coffee Song”,” Ke Saro Ramri Bhako”,” Ae Hello”,” Kasari Bhanu” and “Ma Timro”, “Thahai Bhayena”, “Jane Kura Nagara”.
Shreya Katuwal
Shreya Katuwal is an ambassador at Girls for Tech Nepal.
Vesaj Timalsina
Vesraj Timalsina, a student at Ace Institute of Management loves to play music and sing songs.
Kesang Shrestha
Kelsang Shrestha is a young and mellifluous Nepalese singer, songwriter, and song composer based in Kathmandu. He has been the YouTube sensation after the release of his single debut “Bijuli Dai” in collaboration with Bajra Creation Records. He is an 18-year-old songwriter and singer. He has a total of four music videos on his official Youtube Channel, all of which were written, composed, and sung by him. He has a total of about 2 million total views on his YouTube channel with 25.5K subscribers.
Girish Khatiwada
Girish Khatiwada is a Nepalese rapper, radio, television personality, and vlogger. Khatiwada started his career at the age of 15 with his first track "Meaningless Rap" in 1994 and became mainstream with his counterpart Pranil Timalsena with other tracks like Timi Jaha Pani Jaanchhau, Malai Bhot Deu, Hami Dherai Sana Chhu. Today, besides his career in the Nepalese rap music scene, Khatiwada is also one of the most influential vloggers from Nepal.
Sudin Pokharel (DA69)
Sudin Pokharel DA69 belongs to the generation that brought a revolution in the hip-hop and rap music scenario of Nepal through, "The Unity Band". Along with that Sudin is passionate about sports, journalism, and Nepali literature. After taking a break for 7.5 years from the music industry he has made an unexpected comeback with his 3rd song, "Mrityu" which talks about mental health and encourages people to talk about mental health issues through his hip-hop song. Mr. Sudin Pokharel is indeed the most inspiring person in Nepal, a legendary singer and humanitarian who encouraged people to pursue their dreams in the hip-hop field.
Rahul Pandey
Rahul Pandey is an Indian Bollywood Playback singer and Songwriter. He debuted in the Indian Film industry with the song Haseena Tu kameena Mein from the movie Happy Ending in 2014. In 2015 he sang the song Jab We Met from the movie Hero. Rahul Pandey sang two songs, Feel The Rhythm Show Me Your Moves in Tiger Shroff starrer 'Munna Michael' (2017).
Graceful and Inspirational Guests graced the event
Hult Prize at IOE has never been greedy to connect the audience with the guests who have significantly impacted various fields in Nepal.
Chief GuestCharlemagne Quinitio, who has spent a decade-plus targeted on youth investment specifically early-stage impact, also gave some motivational talks about entrepreneurship.
Former minister Mr.Ganesh Shah praised the youths for their involvement in various programs, especially in the Agro and Science sector. MD of Nepal Telecom, Mr. Dilli Adhikari, also shared Telecom's history and its work for the public. Likewise, Fahim Shahriar (a member of Hult Prize Global) and Fedi Regaieg (Regional Analyst of Hult Prize, Asia) also graced the event with their insightful talks.
The finale was graced by beauty with brains and everyone's favorite, Shrinkhala Khatiwada (Miss Nepal 2019), who shared her career journey.
Guests Profile:
- Chief Guest-Charlemagne Quinitio
Charlemagne Quinitio oversees the strategic planning and execution of our global operations. In this role, he manages the global staff for all programming, digital marketing, and partner relationships in all countries that the Hult Prize operates. He has spent a decade-plus targeted on youth investment specifically early-stage impact and advises student entrepreneurs and alumni enterprises of our community regularly.
Based in southern California, Charlemagne Quinitio is actively involved in his community. He currently serves as an advisory board member at UC Irvine and regularly volunteers his time with the San Diego Food Banks Food Distribution program. He received his M.B.A. from Hult International Business School and his B.S. in Bioinformatics and Genomics from UC Riverside.
- Ganesh Shah
Ganesh Shah is a Nepalese politician and ex-Minister for Environment, Science, and Technology. He is also one of the senior-most leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal (United) and until recently was the General Secretary of the party Communist Party of Nepal (United). Shah is a mechanical engineer by profession and received his M-Tech (Technical Engineering) from Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University in 1973.
- Dilli Adhikari
Dilli Adhikari is the MD at Nepal Telecom and has BE(Electronics), Msc. in information and communication engineering IOE.
- Fahim Shahriar
Fahim Shahriar is a Regional Associate at Hult Prize Global Foundation He was recognized as one of the best directors in organizing campus events for Hult Prize 2017. His achievement was announced at the Hult Prize Kuala Lumpur Regional Final 2017 at Malaysian Global Innovation Creative Centre (MaGIC).
- Fedi Regaieg
Fedi Regaig is an Engineer Entrepreneur who is making an impact through business. He is from Tunisia. Fedi is an Asia Regional Analyst at Hult Prize Foundation.
- Shrinkhala Khatiwada
Shrinkhala Khatiwada is a Nepalese model and the winner of Miss Nepal World 2018. She represented Nepal in Miss World 2018. She also became the second Nepali after Ishani Shrestha to win Beauty with a Purpose Award and secured a place in the Top 12 of Miss World 2018. She won the multimedia award in pageant prelims which earned her a place in the final top 30.
Bringing theatre personalities on the Zoom screen
The legend and Ma in Mahajodi, respected Madan Krishna Shrestha, was invited as a special guest for this event. According to him, earning money and making the nation progress is an actual achievement. The winner of Comedy Champions, Mr. Himesh Panta, also shared his views and some happening times of his journey in promoting comedy on social media.
Ram Pothineni, a Telugu/Indian Film star, shared his journey and experiences of onscreen and offscreen life with Hult Prize at IOE Team on zoom screen.
Guests Profile
- Madan Krishna Shrestha
Madan Krishna Shrestha is a Nepalese actor, comedian, writer, and singer. He is one of the most successful and respected comedians in the Nepalese entertainment industry and was the most popular stage performer in his time. He is well known for his method acting. He is one of the comedy duo, "MaHa Jodi", the other one being Hari Bansha Acharya. He also performs on stage most of the time with his partner, Hari Bansha Acharya.
- Himesh Panta
Himesh Panta is one of the most talented and content-based comedians. Panta is famous for the winner of Comedy Champion Season 1 (2020). He is very popular among Nepalese youngsters. Renowned for his comedy and sense of humor, Himesh Panta makes his Hult Prize debut as a Guest in the Grand Finale.
- Ram Pothineni
Ram Pothineni is an Indian film actor who is known for his works in Telugu cinema. He made his debut with Devadasu (2006) which won him a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South. His notable films include Ready (2009), Kandireega (2011), Pandaga Chesko (2015), Nenu Sailaja (2016), Hello Guru Prema Kosame (2018), and iSmart Shankar (2019). He started his acting career at the age of 11 and is a recipient of numerous national and international awards. He is also known for his contribution to social causes, including support for the Swachch Bharat campaign. His charm and fabulous acting with good looks have made him one of India's most celebrated film stars. His latest film ‘RED’ is set for release in early 2021.
Fierce Finale
The year's event, Hult Prize 2020/21 on Food for Good, brought some fascinating, exhilarating, and extra-ordinary innovative ideas to establish and promote entrepreneurship in good food. The competition was neck-to-neck. The flow of articulation on pitching and answering judges confidently was a common specialty found among the finalists.
Sam Bake, Jerry Lee, Luke Smith, Arif Nezami, SM Shaikat, Saraban Tahura Turin, Sumit Shah, and Dr. Surya Raj Acharya were the esteemed judges for the Finale. Rajan Parajuli, a member of NREN, made a closing note for the finale. Mr. Dilli Adhikar declared the name of the winners.
With the project named "Aaloo," Team "CuriousWe" won the HULT Prize 2020-21 Award. Likewise, Team "Virus Vixen" brought the project "Ghar 2 Ghar" and won the first runner's spot. The second runner-up award was named to Team "Bean," whose project was "Bean".
Judges Profile:
- Jerry Lee
Jerry is a Former Senior Strategy Operations Manager at Google and current Product Strategy Manager at Lucid. He is from Torrance, California, and graduated summa cum laude from Babson College. After graduating, Jerry was hired as the youngest analyst in his organization by being promoted multiple times in 2 years to his current position. Outside of work, Jerry partners with universities organizations (170+ to date) to help others land into their dream careers. He's amassed 83,000+ followers and has reached 15M+ professionals.
2. Sam Baker
Sam Baker is a Strategy Consultant at Deloitte, World’s Largest Professional Services Network, since 1998, focusing on corporate purpose and strategy, the SDGs and climate change, ESG and Impact definition and reporting. He is currently leading the Goal13 Impact Platform initiative with the CBI, Chapter Zero, A4S, the Met Office, and Dell to build a public repository of corporate actions on climate change; and working with WEF/ the International Business Council on establishing common (ESG) metrics for long term value creation. He is also the Part-Time Strategy Advisor to Climate Zero.
He has been previously involved in various cross-organizational initiatives to promote the SDGs and Climate Transition, including GSMA’s Data for Good, GESI’s Digital with Purpose, BiTC’s Global Goals working group, and the Impact Investing Alliance. He is also a frequent judge/panelist in this domain including CBI Achieving Net Zero Conference, the Good Festival, GSMA’s Global Mobile Awards (SDG Category), the BiTC Unilever Global Development Award, ICAEW’s Finance for the Future awards.
3. Saraban Tahura Turin
Saraban Tahura Turin is the founder and CEO of the Turtle venture. Turtle Venture is made of a group of people working on many ventures of their own and they’ve made a platform for newcomers and young startups. The venture plans to be thee helping hands and provide tech support along with structural support which might help kick off the starters to a new beginning.
4. Mr. Luke Smith
Luke Smith has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Natural Resources Management and Agribusiness, with Certificates in Natural Resources Management for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, Youth in Entrepreneurship Business on Agribusiness Enterprises and a Certificate AGRIMONITOR: Agricultural policy, food security and climate change from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Additionally, he is the current Caribbean Regional Coordinator for Thought for Food, a global movement that creates, empowers, and supports the next generation of leaders to solve our planet’s most pressing challenge: How to sustainably feed 10 billion people? Luke is also the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Officer of We Help Youth Farm (WHYFARM) an award-winning youth-led organization based in Trinidad geared towards growing the future feeders of tomorrow.
5. Arif Nezami
Arif Nezami is a serial entrepreneur, community builder, and startup mentor from Bangladesh. He led Google, Facebook, Mozilla developer, and startup communities in Bangladesh and South Asia region for around 10 years. His innovations won the World Summit Award, Mantha Award, Facebook Hackathon, and many national and international recognitions. Artificial Intelligence, Data, Social Innovations, Next Billon Users, and Web technologies are his areas of interest.
6. Surya Raj Acharya
Surya Raj Acharya is a Nepalese politician and a public intellectual as an independent expert in development and infrastructure policy. He was a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University before joining Sajha Party. He was the spokesperson of Sajha Party. Dr. Acharya is one of the popular commentators in national newspapers, radio, and Television. He is known for his expertise in development and infrastructure issues. He is one of very few experts who maintain objectivity and impartiality on issues of public interest.
Mentors profile :
- Shiv Kandel
Shiv Kandel is the co-founder at Yeklo, Yeklo, and Changenepal, and CEO of LDT Nepal. He is a management enthusiast highly interested in collective leadership, brand establishment, international collaboration, and the innovative business model's sustainability. He carries high aspirations for the business, poetry, filmmaking, and disruptive technology. He brings a range of experience from both profit and non-profit sectors and now his mission is to introduce Nepali disruptive tech products into the global market.
2. Alex Westerlund
Alex Westerlund is a Serial Entrepreneur, Political Philosopher, Activist, and Traveller. He is a co-founder of Humanity Up, leading to connect global changemakers within a platform. He is an enthusiast traveler and global social changemaker.
3. Musa Olatunji
Musa Olatunji is a Policy Enthusiast, Trainer, Business Strategist, Accountant, Content Curator, Nation Builder and Connector, Award Winner. He’s the Lead Consultant for BeMORE Global Consulting and Co-Founder / Executive Director of MORE Global Foundation who advocates for the Implementation of Africa Agenda 2063 by the African Union and the Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations 2030.
4. Nadia Thu Huong Ho
Nadia Thu Huong Ho is an award-winning author of 9 books, and a co-founder of the edtech startup DaMon Education, which aims to bring personalized learning to Vietnam. She is also a co-founder of a global citizenship community Hộ chiếu xanh đi quanh thế giới and Link Online Learners. She is a Vietnamese-Czech citizen who is currently based in Los Angeles, California. She is a global citizen who has had opportunities to live, study, and work in 7 countries on 4 continents.
Her wide professional scope ranges from international business, academic research, consulting, and education to marketing, event management, cross-cultural communication, and entrepreneurship. She has gained professional experience working at non-profit organizations, multinational corporations, universities, and social action projects around the globe. Nadia speaks English, Vietnamese, Czech, Spanish, and French.
5. David Pham
David Pham was born in Vietnam and moved to the Czech Republic when he was 5 years old. After living in Prague for more than 20 years, he is now back in Hanoi, working in the Education sector. David has a master's degree with a specialization in International Business from a Czech university. He is a co-founder of 180 Degrees Consulting in Prague, Model UN Prague, Hộ chiếu xanh đi quanh thế giới, and DaMon Education. He worked as the Business Development Manager at Sportmate in London, the Country Manager at Ravak in Shanghai, and worked at ING Bank, Sberbank, and Czech Export Bank. David speaks English, Czech, Vietnamese, French, and basic Mandarin!
6. Sheikh Nasrat Sharif
Sheikh Nasrat Sharif is an Entrepreneur, Software Engineer, Android Developer, and a Mobile Tech Enthusiast. He will be primarily mentoring the techy projects of Hult Prize at IOE and also helping the participants solve their problems more efficiently.
7. SM Shaikat
SM Shaikat is a renowned youth development expert, and policy advocate working in Bangladesh and beyond for about a decade. Some of his roles include Youth Advisor (Asia-Pacific) of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat): Shaikat was elected to the UN-Habitat Youth Advisory Board in 2015 with votes of youths in Asia and Pacific countries. Executive Director, SERAC-Bangladesh: He is currently serving as the Executive Director at this national level youth-focused rights and development organization. In his capacity, he designs programs and supervises implementation in the fields.
International Consultant: Shaikat also works as a freelance consultant in development and communication with a number of international NGOs and research firms in many countries, including the US, UK, Malaysia, Thailand.
8. Nipun Shakya
Nipun Shakya is a storyteller. He tells travel stories of Nepal heard, shared, and experienced from different human communities of Nepal. He is the Founder of dulwa.com, A Social Travel Enterprise designed for altruistic tourists all over the world! The company's core is to sustainably promote Nepal’s nature, communities, cultures, cuisines, globally.
9. Radia Rayan Chowdhury
Radia Rayan Chowdhury is a software engineer who is passionate about Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing. Currently, she is working for ServicEngineBPO in Bangladesh. She is the convenor for the TRIKONOMITI Project that works for underprivileged women and young girls' menstrual hygiene, which was initiated right at the dawn of coronavirus when quarantine and Lockdown were suddenly introduced in the country. She believes there needs to be a growing focus on women empowerment through technology. She hopes to expand her activities and support more girls in the future. Her dream includes a pledge that no girls will be left behind. She was a Campus Ambassador of Microsoft Student Partners, and she is an active Google Local Guide.
10. Abhigya Pokharel
Abhigya Pokharel is a Senior Project Manager at Ncell Axiata, an Accomplished Servant Leader, and a Certified Coach. She has also been a speaker at various national/ international conferences on Personal Agility, Agile Transformation, and Cargo Cult Agile. Adding to his portfolio, she is A Certified Scrum Master, Certified Scrum Practitioner, Agile Certified Coach, Certified in Scaled Agile Framework, Certified Agile Leadership, and a Certified PRINCE2 Practitioner. She is also one of the Founding members of ‘Spiral Nepal.'
11. Usha Khatiwada
Usha Khatiwada is the CEO of NRN Infrastructure Development Limited. She was Awarded World-Changing women 2020 by Conscious Company - USA and Most influential women of Nepal by RSTCA in 2020. She was also a Speaker at the Hydro Vision International Conference in USA in 2016, 2018, Hydro-2015 at France in 2015, and is a Volunteer Outreach Coordinator at Girls in Tech - Nepal. Usha was also Nominated in the diversity inclusion award and is a finalist for HR Program Manager Award 2020 organized by Womentech Global Awards, 2020
12. Kazi Nowrid Amin
Kazi Nowrid Amin is a TEDx speaker and was named as one of "Top 100 inspirational LinkedIn icons in Malaysia (2019) to follow" by Marketing In Asia magazine. He is a passionate Digital Marketer with 8+ Years of Job experience. Currently, he is working in Malaysia with IQI Global (Real Estate Agency) as Digital Marketing Manager since December 2016. He is leading IQI to grow and make a strong presence in the digital world. In addition, he is also performing the role as a public speaker and Digital Marketing trainer. He was Keynote and Panel speaker in: Sarawak E-commerce Forum 2019, Exabytes Ecommerce conference 2019, Exabytes Internet Marketing Summit 2019, MarTech Summit 2019, Malaysia Social Media week 2019, and more.
Summing Up
The Finale of Hult Prize 2020/21 co-organized by Hult Prize at IOE and NxtGen was one of the best events to take place on the virtual mediums. Learning, getting inspired by the guest speakers, and knowing our young engineer students' new ventures and projects was very informative. I must say I made good use of recent Saturdays.
How can we forget the instant quality performance and dedication of the Hult Prize at IOE Team. It's their persistence and devotion to bring out these amazing talk series, tutorials on pitching, and conducting the mega-events of the Food For Good Challenge.
Also, Team Yeklo and Yeklo congratulates Team CuriousWe for this triumph and wishes good luck for the regional competition. Go and make our country proud.
Do check out the live video of Finale of the HULT PRIZE 2020/21
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