Banofi Leather-based develops plant-based leather-based merchandise, together with supplies used for purses and attire
PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Simply days earlier than the beginning of Paris Trend Week, the Hult Prize Basis on September 22 held its World Last and named the social entrepreneurial startup Banofi Leather-based from Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, because the winner of the annual $1 million Hult Prize.
Banofi Leather-based developed know-how to transform banana crop waste into vegan, sustainable and cruelty-free leather-based used for purse, attire, and different merchandise.
The annual Hult Prize competitors challenges pupil entrepreneurs from all over the world to create and launch companies geared toward tackling a few of society’s most urgent points by social entrepreneurship. Concepts should create measurable constructive affect on individuals and the planet and help the United Nations in assembly the Sustainable Growth Targets (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline.
Yearly since 2010, the Hult Prize has posed a special problem to rivals, with earlier contests centered on healthcare, meals insecurity, early childhood training, and water entry. This yr’s theme was “Redesigning Trend.” Trend is the world’s third-largest manufacturing sector, employs a sixth of the world’s workforce, and is accountable for as much as eight % of the world’s greenhouse gasoline emissions.
Banofi Leather-based was chosen for the Grand Prize over 5 different finalist groups invited to Paris for the World Finals, which included:
- EFFCT (Alexandria College, Egypt): Repurposing textile waste to develop board panels to be used in furnishings, development, and packaging.
- GRAFF INC (Hult Worldwide Enterprise Faculty, United States): Manufacturing sustainable materials comprised of textile waste for purposes within the style business.
- Innovious (Cranfield College, England): Making sustainable and scalable interior packaging, similar to hangers and tags, from the leaf sheaths of areca bushes.
- Labwear Studios (ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Know-how, Switzerland): Utilizing on-demand manufacturing and round product design to attenuate overproduction and cut back style waste.
- RiiVERSE (Nationwide Taiwan College, Taiwan): Recycling textile waste and repurposing it into uncooked supplies for different industries.
New this yr, the Hult Prize Basis awarded $100,000 in funding to every of the 5 Finals runners-up.
Judges represented companions of Hult Prize and influential leaders throughout the style business, together with Olivier Gabet, Director of the Division of Objects of Artwork on the Louvre; Sweaty Betty Founder Tamara Hill-Norton; and style environmentalist and interdisciplinary designer Runa Ray.
Sustainable style pioneer, advocate and designer Stella McCartney participated in a fireplace chat, offering recommendation to the Hult Prize finalists and asserting Banofi Leather-based because the winner. Former U.S. President Invoice Clinton appeared within the Finals by way of pre-recorded video, asserting that for subsequent yr’s competitors, which would be the fifteenth anniversary of Hult Prize, the problem, matter, and focus could be limitless, open to any pupil entrepreneurship workforce tackling challenges mentioned within the UN SDGs.
Hult Prize: Competitors Overview
In whole, greater than 40,000 college students participated within the year-long Hult Prize competitors, which began with on-campus packages at universities all over the world in September 2022 and went by a number of regional elimination rounds. In June 2023, semi-finals had been held by way of on-line and dwell occasions in 12 cities worldwide, together with New York, Mumbai, Nairobi, Lisbon, Dubai, Taipei, and Rio de Janeiro. Via August 2023, a narrowed discipline of greater than 20 groups participated in a digital studying expertise the place they reworked their concepts into investment-ready social ventures.
Banofi Leather-based and the opposite 5 finalists gathered in Jambville, France, in September for 3 intensive weeks of mentorship on the Hult Prize Accelerator to organize for the Finals.
“The Hult Prize Finals are the fruits of a lot onerous work by so many pupil entrepreneurs working to drive social change. This yr, it has been a pleasure for everybody concerned at Hult Prize to expertise the evolution of our finalist companies and their progress throughout this journey,” stated Lori van Dam, CEO of the Hult Prize Basis. “I’m so blissful for Banofi Leather-based and all of the runners-up, however I’m simply as excited in regards to the affect the entire Hult Prize neighborhood will proceed to have on the style business. The ingenuity and optimism that’s consultant of the greater than 40,000 college students who’ve engaged on this course of is nothing in need of an inspiration that may information all of us to search out ways in which companies can positively affect our world.”
The Hult Prize began at Hult Worldwide Enterprise Faculty, whose pedagogy and dedication to experiential studying stay embedded in how the competitors works. The competitors and prizes are funded by the Hult household, founders and homeowners of EF Training First.
ABOUT HULT PRIZE
Hult Prize evokes pupil entrepreneurs to resolve the world’s greatest challenges by revolutionary social enterprises with constructive world affect. Via our year-long competitors, over 100,000 younger individuals in 120 nations work to create high-impact startups that tackle the annual problem in alignment with the UN Sustainable Growth Targets. Finalists pitch their companies to a panel of knowledgeable judges, and the successful workforce receives $1M USD in funding to make their thought a actuality.
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Brian Hoyt
EF Training First
[email protected]
Supply: Hult Prize Basis
