Four students from the Business Administration Division, Mahidol University International College (MUIC) won 1st Prize in the Young Entrepreneur Challenge 2020 held on August 17, 2020.
“GRA(TI)TUDE” team comprising Ms. Sathonthorn Sooksawee, Ms. Parnpunthong Wanathong, Ms. Sushaya Sukmanus Sukmanus and Mr. Apichai Leelakraisorn, won 50,000 Baht cash prize and a chance to compete on the global stage.
On the other hand, Thronaee team, composed of Mr. Gursimran Singhprasong, Mr. Thanawin Teerasangjun, Mr. Suppakorn Araam–arunsri and Mr. Pongpan Pairojana who is from Mahidol University, was 1st Runner-up and won 30,000 Baht cash prize.
The Young Entrepreneur Challenge 2020 was organized by Lazada Thailand in collaboration with CCN Partner, Alibaba’s local GET channel partner. More than 120 teams from 30 universities across the country joined the competition. Each participating team was required to start a digital venture on the Lazada Thailand platform. Lazada University and the Alibaba GET Network provided participants with weekly online training sessions throughout the competition period from April to June 2020.
GRA(TI)TUDE and Thronaee teams were also eligible to compete in the Alibaba GET Global Challenge 2020: Digital Entrepreneurship and Innovation event on August 25, 2020. This competition aims to empower the next generation of entrepreneurial students to contribute to the post-Covid-19 world by creating transformative digital solutions in collaboration with mentors and partners from the Alibaba network.
The GRA(TI)TUDE Team impressed judges with its project “Munspak,” crispy potato chips which uses potatoes grown in Hat Yai, Songkhla province as the main ingredient. Around 300 packets of the unique local flavors of these potato chips, such as Hatyai fried chicken, were sold in one month. In addition, by collaborating with local potato farms, the team also helped Thai farmers who have suffered from the Covid-19 pandemic to have an additional source of income.
Team Thronaee, on the other hand, started out selling around 10 varieties of fruit plants such as mangoes, durians, jackfruits, and miracle fruits on the Lazada platform. In just two months, the team received more than 150 orders and earned 40,000 Baht. After Thoranee became one of the 30 finalist teams, it converted itself into a startup, “a one-stop e-commerce platform for plants” under the domain Thronaee.com which “acts as an online market for plant suppliers and buyers, with detailed information and AI customization, and which also serves as an online community for plant lovers.”
The Alibaba GET Network was initiated in 2018 as an extension of Alibaba’s GET program which has benefitted 80 education partners and trained more than 300 lecturers and over 13,000 students and other participants from Australia, India, Israel, Mongolia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, South Korea, Singapore and China.
