31 October 2024
Five teams took to the stage for the BeChangeMaker 2024 finale in Lyon, France, pitching their business ideas to a panel of judges and an international audience.
BeChangeMaker is an online training program created by WorldSkills International and the HP Foundation, and supported by UNESCO-UNEVOC. It offers people aged 18–35 a chance to develop their potential as social entrepreneurs. Now in its eighth year, a record 715 teams from 83 countries and regions applied to join this year’s program with 30 teams making it to the shortlist.
During the finale, each team had five minutes to present their business plan and showcase their commitment to creating a more sustainable world.
Sekofia’s polished performance and innovative business solution—a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that connects patients, healthcare providers, and insurance companies to streamline insurance processes – impressed the judges and secured them a well-deserved first place.
Founded by Nigerian students Ochong Johnson Aduma and Nino Chibuzor Nwachukwu from the African Leadership University in Rwanda, Sekofia has designed a way to digitize health insurance while reducing the administrative load by up to 90 percent. Testing has shown it has the potential to reduce patient time-to-care by up to 95 percent.
“Getting to this point has been an amazing journey over a couple of months. It is a remarkable achievement for us and the experience has been incredible,” said Ochong.
During the three-month program, the 30 participating teams had access to coaching, tools, and resources, including the HP Foundation’s free business skills training program, HP LIFE.
In addition, 60 HP employees volunteered to mentor the teams, helping them develop their business ideas and improve their pitches. A further 36 volunteers were available to the teams ‘on demand’ providing support as needed on topics related to their specific skillset. Eight more HP employees volunteered as judges.
HP employees Claudio and Andrei mentored the winning team. “I chose to be a BeChangeMaker mentor because I have early stage startup experience and wanted to share my resources and learnings with others. What I found most rewarding about the experience was seeing the team actually apply the guidance I offered which resulted in a great outcome for them,” said Claudio. Andrei added, “I volunteered for the program because I wanted to share my knowledge with young entrepreneurs. It was a pleasure to work with Sekofia who had a great business idea and were receptive to our advice. I am 100% positive that, with their attitude and desire to improve, they will achieve great things.”
Sekofia was joined on the podium by RiceUP from Vietnam, who took second place with their idea for an environmentally friendly alternative to food packaging, and Planet Plus from Kenya in third place with an idea for developing biodegradable composting bags. Other finalists included Holly from Colombia with a solution that helps young people build their confidence, and Care Plug from Zimbabwe who are developing a telemedicine platform with a state-of-the-art electronic healthcare system to bridge the healthcare gap.
“I have been inspired by the creativity, passion, and determination of all these young entrepreneurs. Their innovative ideas to make a positive impact on the world are truly admirable. It was an honour to be one of the judges for this competition. Congratulations again to the winning team and all the competitors,” said Daniele Mason, Global Sustainable Impact Communications, HP Inc. and lead HP judge.
Each of the five finalists will receive EUR 1,000 worth of post-program coaching. The top three teams will also receive an additional EUR 2,000 to further develop their concepts.
About HP LIFE
HP LIFE is a free business skills training program. It can be accessed online via the HP LIFE platform and mobile app, as well as offline and in person.
The program gives people all over the world the opportunity to learn in-demand skills and core business concepts—whether they want to enhance their education, start their own business, or secure a better job—by providing more than 30 free, accessible training courses in eight languages.
It is also an adaptable educational resource used by trainers, educators, and mentors to enrich curricula, support business creation, and improve employability skills. HP LIFE is a program of the HP Foundation.