October 22, 2020
Over 200 people joined online to watch the top five teams—and a wild card—pitch their social business ideas live at the BeChangeMaker 2020 global final.
Ami Doshi, Esha Shah, Avni Shah, and Mohit Ashar—the team behind EZDiabetes—took an impressive first place at the BeChangeMaker 2020 online final. The entrepreneurs from India, the United States, and France are developing an app to help diabetes sufferers better manage their symptoms and live healthier lives.
“We are so excited about all the mentoring and opportunities provided by the BeChangeMaker program. Everyone had great ideas. We have connected with entrepreneurs from other countries. Thank you to everyone on the BeChangeMaker team,” said Esha on behalf of EZDiabetes.
BeChangeMaker is an online social entrepreneurship training program created by WorldSkills International and the HP Foundation. It offers people ages 18–35 a chance to develop their potential as social entrepreneurs. An incredible 475 teams from 86 countries applied to join the three-month program this year, from which 30 were selected to participate.
During the summer, the teams took HP LIFE courses covering topics such as how to acquire funding, harness the marketing power of social media, and bring a product to market. They were also supported by 60 HP employee volunteers from around the globe who served as mentors sharing their expertise to help the teams hone their business ideas and improve their pitches. Another 13 HP employee volunteers served as judges.
EZDiabetes was one of six teams—including a wild card entry—to qualify for the final pitch competition. The wild card ‘competition-in-a-competition’ took place for the first time this year. It gave the teams who did not make it through the earlier BeChangeMaker stages another opportunity to pitch their ideas and impress the judges. Seven teams took part in the new competition which made one additional place available at the online final.
EZDiabetes was joined on the virtual podium by Eat Everything (Taiwan) who took second place with their solution for creating sustainable consumption habits and Roshe (Costa Rica) who took third place for their idea to protect women against violence and sexual harassment. Runners up were Eco Energy Africa (Cameroon) for their work to create environmentally friendly energy materials, Aurat Raaj (Pakistan) who are developing a chatbot companion to support schoolgirls’ menstrual health education and wild card winner, Chasesol (Philippines), for their innovative solution to address youth unemployment.
All six teams received an HP laptop and will continue to receive coaching, access to the HP LIFE program, and support from WorldSkills and the broader BeChangeMaker community as they prepare to launch their businesses. EZDiabetes will also be invited to participate in the Wolves Summit where they will have the opportunity to connect with potential investors.