The run-up to the 7th edition of Global Entrepreneurship Summit in 2017, scheduled to take place in the city from November 28 to 30, began with an INK-Salon at T-Hub on Saturday.
The ‘Road to GES’ event was packed in a short rock gig, an awards function and sharing of a few success stories from entrepreneurs who veered off the beaten path.
Niteesh Kondiparthi strummed Pink Floyd and Coldplay numbers and then it was down to serious business as dozens of young men and women who competed for the ₹75,000 prize money waited eagerly for the winner’s name.
“The GES-2016 in the Silicon Valley had 1,000 participants. We want to take it to the next level with 1,500 entrepreneurs, investors and start-ups. We want a world where innovation meets the industry and the government facilitates it all,” said Anna Roy of NITI Aayog, speaking about the collaboration between the the U.S. and India for hosting the event in Hyderabad.
Narayana Peesapathy of Bakeys Edible Cutlery shared his story on how he thought of edible cutlery after seeing the waste generated by the use of plastic spoons and what it did to the human body and environment.
“We are using up groundwater at an astronomical rate as more and more people are switching to rice. If 25% of Indians switch to other cereal than rice, we will have no water problem,” said Mr. Peesapathy.
The winner of the two-day event was the team from Manipal University who created an automated pani puri dispenser.
The first runner up was the team from NIT Warangal, who came up with a game of matching shapes and colours to improve cognitive skills among children of 4-7 years old.
“This is just the beginning. We will have a series of events, including hackathons, in the run up to the GES-17,” informed Ms. Anna Roy.