At the award ceremony. (Photo: baomoi.com) Hanoi (VNA) – The United Nations Development Programme in Vietnam (UNDP) in collaboration with HATCH! VENTURES held a ceremony in Hanoi on December 19 to present awards to the top four teams of the SDG Challenge 2017, a competition to devise business solutions to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The four winning teams are Imagtor, which provides videos and image editor services for disabled people, Triip.me/Save the Ocean, which sets up smart water providers to reduce the use of plastic bottles, Sign Language Interpreting Service Company, which offers translation for deaf people through video calls and similar technologies; and 1516 Green Architecture, which supplies power for impoverished households in remote areas through wind turbines and solar panels.
SDG Challenge 2017 aims to find innovative business ideas with global scalability and social impact to realise the SDGs. The competition was held in Vietnam for the first time to seek social projects targeting the SDGs.
The winners of the competition will have chance to attend the Social Impact Incubator Programme from December 2017 to June 2018. Accordingly, they will be provided with initial working capital of 85,000 USD and a business development consultancy package.
Congratulating the winners, Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Country Director in Vietnam, noted that they know how to utilise advanced technology to help society.
Their projects respect the environment, empower and support disadvantaged people and optimise resources to ensure no one is left behind, she added.
Meanwhile, Pham Quoc Dat, Founder and CEO of HATCH! VENTURE, highlighted that Vietnam’s start-up ecosystem is developing well, creating ideal conditions for start-ups to seek resources.
Cooperation between the UNDP and HATCH! VENTURE is a manifestation of how the start-up ecosystem work for development, Dat said, underlining that cooperation opportunities will open for private firms and domestic and foreign social organisations to support start-ups.-VNA
VNA
