FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. has announced the student winners of the 2020-2021 edition of its annual FedEx Express / JA International Trade Challenge (ITC) Asia Pacific Competition.
The competition saw 52 of the region’s brightest students competed in presenting their ideas on creating market entry strategy for mental being product in South Africa. The three days of intense competition involved the panel of the region’s business leaders.
The winning team was The Breakfast Club comprising Chloe Jazzy Lau from Hong Kong SAR and Aljo Benedicto from the Philippines for their idea to create a biometrics sensor powered by a smart app to detect anxiety attacks.
“We are both honored to be named the winners of the competition. It is so exciting! Every stage of the competition has been a fantastic challenge for us, especially in the finals. All of the ideas were so strong, and we learnt volumes from this experience,” The Breakfast Club team members said.
Team Lumos comprising Sakthivell Ahrumugam from Singapore and Chaeyoon Park from South Korea were named first runners up for their idea of a smart-bike that helps track the user’s mental wellbeing.
The Viennese Medicos comprising Raine Santiago Nakpil from the Philippines and Theethad Thipsoda from Thailand were second runners-up. Their idea was a smart lamp with a sleep monitoring function
“The creativity and enthusiasm that the students have shown during the competition is truly inspiring. Each team demonstrated innovative thinking to solving real world business challenges all of which are directly applicable to the post-Covid world,” said Kawal Preet, president, Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region, FedEx Express.
“As a supporter of youth entrepreneurship and a proponent of small businesses in Asia Pacific, we believe that empowering the next generation will help the region prepare for what’s next and help bring the global marketplace to our doorstep,” he added.
Judges of the competition expressed their satisfaction with the efforts made by the students. “Despite the challenges presented in a virtual format, the event was very well organized and was filled with passionate young adults from almost every country in Asia with concrete business plans that aimed to solve a specific social problem. Congratulations!” Darius Yuen, Founder, Zhong Yi Investment Managers said.
Meanwhile, one of the judges, Naysan Munusamy, Co-Founder, MoneyMatch also commented, “It was really good to see these aspiring young entrepreneurs rise up to the occasion pitching digitally, full of commitment regardless of the global pandemic. This bodes well for our Asia Pacific region with such talented youngsters bringing our nations forward.”
