Team Pentechan won the middle school category.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Five girls from Bengaluru managed to win a $10,000 toward funding their project idea by winning the middle school bracket of the Technovation Challenge, a global afterschool program, funded by the nonprofit Iridescent, which promotes and encourages girls ages 10 to 18 to pursue an interest in technology.
Sanjana Vasanth, N. Anupama, Mahima Mehendale, Swasthi P. Rao and B. Navyashree, all aged 14, took top billing for their Android app, Sellixo, which provides an online marketplace to buy and sell dry waste.
According to the young pioneers, who competed under the name Team Pentechan, India dumps about 5.6 million tons of dry waste a year. Their notion is that small business owners and residents can post their dry waste for sale and make a profit, rather than throwing away readily recyclable trash.
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According to TechShout, the app “connects sellers and buyers by targeting shops, building societies, roadside stalls, and other small establishments which may want to dispose of their garbage in the most convenient manner possible. If there’s a small profit to be earned by sending waste to recycling agencies or ‘raddiwalas,’ it’s possible that some people might be more eager to engage in the task of keeping their surroundings clean.”
The Bengaluru students from New Horizon Public School (ICSE) beat 400 other teams from 64 nations to take the top prize, and said they were inspired by the prime minister’s Swachh Bharat Mission, Digital India, and Save the Girl Child initiative, reported Business Standard.
Pentechan began gestating in January 2015 under the mentorship of Goldman Sachs company, and the team then spent six months fine-tuning their business planning, marketing, communication, technology research, and leadership.
In the high school bracket, Team Chalis won for its app, Discardious, which enables users to request waste pickup from a mobile cart and to efficiently report environmental hazards.
In 2013, Nigeria produced about 350 metric tons of waste, and just over half was disposed of properly, according to Team Chalis. The girls explained that trash collection in Nigeria, which run by the state government, is unreliable. People inevitably end up throwing their trash in the street after getting tired of waiting for it to get picked up, reported the Christian Science Monitor.
Technovation launched about six years ago with just 45 participants. Since then some 5,000 girls from around the globe have created more than 1,000 apps. This year, teams from more than 60 nations participated. The program kicks off as a 12-week course and culminates with a pitch competition for finalists to present their apps to judges in front of an audience.
“It’s a lot of time an effort, but I didn’t mind,” Pratheeksha K.S, a mentor to Team Pentechan, told the Christian Science Monitor. “I will definitely do it again.”