Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad (Alliance Bank) recently announced the winning teams of the second edition of Eco-Biz Dream Project, following six weeks of business workshops for the participants which include storytelling and presentation training.
Two teams from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) took top honours in the programme, emerging as champion and first runner-up respectively. Team Eco Paddy Planter took home the coveted grand prize of RM10,000, while team Tanah Kita walked away with RM5,000 as the first runner-up.
For their outstanding effort, Team Craycil from Xiamen University Malaysia received a RM3,000 prize as the second runner-up. Team Green Gang from University Kebangsaan Malaysia and Team Borneo’s Ladies from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris stood out with their submissions and were recognised as third and fourth runner-up’s respectively, receiving RM1,000 each.
Mr Joel Kornreich, Group Chief Executive Officer of Alliance Bank said, “The issues of green conservation and environmental protection are important topics on a global scale. The Eco-Biz Dream Project encourages the youth of today to be both enterprising and mindful of the environment. We believe that when innovative ideas meet the desire to improve society, there will be a meaningful and sustainable impact.”
This year, Malaysia’s first environmental-themed business plan competition received many high-quality video submissions by student teams from 22 universities on the theme “Saving the Environment with Your Idea”.
The 10 teams that had advanced to the final round had the opportunity to participate in two new features of the programme. One was a digital business simulation called “Build Your Business”, where teams were placed in a risk-free learning environment of making business decisions to achieve the highest net profit at the end of 12 months. This includes strategic business planning, production, pricing and marketing.
The second feature was a two-day, one-night development camp for the finalists. The camp provided training on business model development, market validation to test ideas, as well as storytelling and presentation techniques to help participants fine-tune their proposals for the final pitch.
Using knowledge gathered from the learning sessions and camp, the 10 teams pitched their ideas and business case to an expert panel of judges. The finalists were also quizzed on sustainability, growth and real-world application of their business propositions.
The Eco-Biz Dream Project 2 was supported by leading entrepreneurs and environmentalists from EcoKnights, Green Tech Malaysia and Centre for Environment, Technology and Development Malaysia (CETDEM), and Leaderonomics.
Over the past two years, the Eco-Biz Dream Project has received over 320 submissions from university students in Malaysia, and awarded RM40,000 to budding social entrepreneurs.
