Women in Tech: A competition for future women entrepreneurs

Huawei announced the winners of its “Women in Tech” competition in June 2024, which focused on training potential female entrepreneurs. Here’s a look at the competition’s journey so far and what the champion team’s draft has been.

The Women in Tech journey

In June 2023, Huawei launched its flagship CSR program, Women in Tech, in Bangladesh, offering students, professionals and job seekers the opportunity to showcase their talents and innovation. Through a series of screening processes, the field was narrowed down from a pool of 750 participants to the top 50, who then underwent further interviews and assessments. By the end of this phase, 20 participants were chosen to advance to the incubation camp.

The 20 finalists were divided into four teams, each tasked with creating two projects, culminating in a total of eight solutions. In April 2024, the teams presented their final pitches, presenting their work to a panel of judges. Entries were judged on innovative use of ICT solutions and business potential, with judges considering problem statements, innovation, business cases and task scores.

From these, the first 3 business ideas were finally selected. The competition also included individual assessments, recognizing participants for their contributions. Four individuals were singled out for their excellence: Kaisari Ferdous from Dhaka University, Mahmuda Nayem and Safrina Kabir from Islamic University of Technology (IUT) and Sumaiya Tarique Labiba, Design Verification Engineer at sBIT Limited. These top performers will be given the opportunity to attend a startup summit in China.

The project named ‘Dhaara’ was crowned as the champion, a project focused on using solar energy and other technologies to ensure safe water supply for households. The first runner-up, “Terra Bin”, proposed turning waste into resources using solar composters and other technologies. “Solnet” came in second, presenting an efficient way to build and operate solar power plants using cloud technology and applications. The champion, runner-up and second runner-up received BDT 3 lakh, BDT 2 lakh and BDT 1 lakh respectively as prize money.

Winning Team Project: ‘Dhaara’

In a recent interview with The Daily Star, the team called “EmPower” shared their project idea. According to them, to address one of Bangladesh’s public health crises, they introduced ‘Dhaara’, a solar-powered water filtration system designed to provide people with safe, affordable and sustainable drinking water. The initiative aims to combat the widespread problem of water contamination, which has left 80 percent of private water taps contaminated with E. coli bacteria, according to a 2018 World Bank report.

In 2022, Bangladesh’s Environmental Performance Index (EPI) score of 26.90 out of 100 highlighted the urgency of the situation, the team said. The “Dhaara” system is committed to improving access to clean water by providing a reliable and environmentally friendly alternative to current water sources. Powered by solar energy, this solution not only reduces reliance on grid electricity, but also promises to lower energy costs for consumers, according to the team.

The ‘Dhaara’ system will initially target residential apartment buildings in urban and suburban areas, with a particular focus on the upper and upper middle income classes. The filtration system, which includes a solar-powered water storage and filtration unit, is designed to meet the daily drinking water needs of a typical seven-story building with 80-100 residents.

According to reports, the water purification market in Bangladesh is expected to reach $157.9 million by 2028, which the team hopes will provide an opportunity for “Dhaara” to make an impact. According to them, RO/UV filter consumers spend BDT 16,890 per year and classic filter consumers spend BDT 8,200 per year, while solar filtration costs consumers only BDT 4,800 per year – making it more cost-effective for users. The team hopes that with the support of government policies that encourage the use of renewable energy, “Dhaara” could help Bangladesh enable a broader push towards sustainable development.

The business model for ‘Dhaara’ is a hybrid B2B and B2C approach targeting both developers and building owners with potential partnerships with developer brands. The system’s affordable price, along with low maintenance and customer service options promise a pleasant experience for users, says the “EmPower” Team. According to the team, their mission is clear: to ensure that every sip of water is pure, while promoting sustainable energy use in building a greener and cleaner Bangladesh.