Banpu Announces 10 Finalists of “Banpu Champions for Change 10” with Focus on Social Problem Solving through Innovation to Create Sustainable Social Enterprise Network
The 10 Finalists of “Banpu Champions for Change 10” (BC4C#10)
Banpu Public Company Limited, an international versatile energy provider, together with ChangeFusion, unveiled a list of 10 social enterprises qualified for the final competition of “Banpu Champions for Change 10” (BC4C#10) and provided initial funding of 800,000 baht for the finalists to achieve their goals in 3 months. This year, the 10 teams have proposed their business plans aimed at solving social problems with creative ideas and innovations. Their proposals have identified such important issues that were in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework including Quality Education, Decent Work and Economic Growth as well as Good Health and Wellbeing, etc.
Mr. Rattapon Sukhunthee – Head of Corporate Communications, Banpu Public Company Limited, said, “Operating business during the spread of COVID-19 is a challenge. But doing business for others as social enterprise during this time is even more challenging. It represents the strength of entrepreneurial spirit while the market climate is not conducive to entrepreneurs. The only way for social enterprises to overcome obstacles and create a positive impact for society is through creativity. Banpu and ChangeFusion see the power of young generations who want to improve society and communities in which they live. That is why we would like to celebrate our 10 years of the project by continuing to support and encourage them to build strong businesses with creativity, making it flexible enough to handle such challenging situations.”
The highlight of the 10 finalists qualified for this year’s project is their innovative thinking and how they use digital platforms to boost business potential while responding to various social issues. They are:
Environment
- Food Loss Food Waste starts from waste management in the community, this business extends its idea to developing products produced from organic waste by using worms and insects to stimulate the degradation process. Then, they convert waste into environmentally friendly products such as fertilizers and animal feed to reduce landfill waste and promote circular economy.
- Banana Land is a business that intends to develop communities in Phu Hor Sub-District, Loei Province, to become a strong, sustainable, and self-reliant community through tourism. The business aims to encourage tourists to learn more about simple lifestyle of people in the community. They will be allowed to witness fun activities including weaving cotton, ordaining the forest, making a spa, and eating food using the community’s organic ingredients. The aim is to generate income and career for people in the community.
- Reviv is an online clothing repair and customization service that believes the fashion industry can be sustainable on the circular economy. In collaboration with skilled workers outside the system, they would repair old clothes to be used again Including bringing old shirts to make a new look with various techniques in order to delay the consumption of fashion products and minimize the impact on the environment as much as possible.
Career development
- Rosecare is a digital platform that collects information and provides housework services to help reduce unfair employment problems while considering the mutual benefits between the contractor and the employer.
- Anywhere Work is a business that aims to create careers and develop digital skills for vulnerable workforce to provide them with better income and quality of life such as digitization of documents and training AI technology to learn and recognize things by filling information.
Education
- Hmong Cyber is a business that builds upon the skill development project of Hmong youths in Nam Chuang Village to develop a self-reliant community and generate income from tourism and festivals. By using a tour booking and accommodation application to connect travelers with the community, the business can reduce social inequality in a sustainable way.
- insKru is an online platform for assessing the quality of teachers by focusing on the “voice” of students. It is also friendly to both teachers and students as there is a system to analyze information and personalize curriculum content for teachers to apply in their class while also promoting active learning.
- “Where will you go after growing up?” Platform is a self-developed learning system designed to help secondary school students or equivalent analyze and get to know themselves better from their needs, aptitudes, and preferences to limitations. The system includes VDO Call testing activities to select various routes to increase decision-making skills so that students can choose the path that suits themselves in the future with confidence.
Health
- HATO is an online platform that allows people with stress to exchange views and feelings together. The platform will also give basic advice on stress management with goal to create a society that understands the importance of mental health problems while providing moral support to people who are facing stress and mental problems.
Agriculture
- Nanan is a business that develops automatic solar-powered insect traps used to get rid of insects by installing it in the planting area. This would help farmers to work more efficiently while reducing the use of pesticides.
Mr. Sunit Shrestha – Managing Director of ChangeFusion said, “The BC4C has been organized for a decade. This year, the teams must face many difficulties due to COVID-19, while Thailand needs help more than ever. It is also challenging to start a new business during such a time. However, they still have BC4C alumni who are ready to assist them in addressing problems and seizing opportunities for growth. This project also creates a friendly ecosystem for social entrepreneurs in Thailand to overcome challenges and change society together.
All the 10 finalists will participate in an intensive workshop while running actual business over 3 months. Next, the project will select 5 winning teams in August 2021 and provide them with additional funding totaling 1.25 million baht to further their social enterprise goals. Let’s see which social enterprises will successfully grow their businesses while creating a sustainable positive impact on society and finally becoming the winner.
For more information and progress about the 10th Banpu Champion for Change project, please visit Banpu Champions for Change Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/banpuchampions/
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About Banpu
Banpu Public Company Limited is a leading international versatile energy provider with 3 core groups of businesses: energy resources, energy generation and energy technology in 10 countries, namely, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Australia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Singapore, Japan, the United States of America and Vietnam.
“Learning is the Power of Change and Development”
Banpu believes that “learning” is an important foundation for the development of “people”, which will drive communities and society towards sustainable development in long term. Banpu’s CSR projects in all countries, therefore, focus on supporting and promoting continuous learning among young generations and communities in various forms, allowing them to learn from real experiences as much as from their daily lives inside and outside classrooms. They are encouraged to practice and develop their potential as well as life skills while always being curious to research, learn and discover knowledge on their own as much as with others.
