Kitabisa grabs the wildcard entry to DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia's finals
This article is part of Young Entrepreneurs of the DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Series
The DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia is in its final phase. From over 400 applications received from all over Asia, 6 finalists were shortlisted on May 6th, 2014 and a wildcard entry for the 7th finalist was opened. 6 teams competed for the 7th finalist spot. Kitabisa, an Indonesia based crowdfunding platform that focuses on social projects, has won the 7th finalist spot and will be presenting to the judges of the challenge for the final pitch round on 5th June.
The other 6 finalists of the challenge representing India, Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal and Singapore are Bodhi Health Education, Interclo Designs, Local Alike, Maya Universe Academy, SOLS 24/7 and Zaya Learning Labs.
More about Kitabisa: Initiated by Alfatih Timur in 2013, Kitabisa.co.id (literally meaning ‘We Can’) aims to connect ‘good people’ to support crowd-driven social innovation and initiatives and maximizes their impact. The team is now aiming to take it up a notch and bring the platform to the next level. Version 2.0 of the website is scheduled to be released early in June, with added features such as online payment gateway, white-label crowdfunding and a social contribution profile where users can track their’s and other people’s social contributions.
Other 6 finalists:
Bodhi Health Education – Bodhi Health Education leverages low cost mobile technology coupled with eLearning to create scalable, high quality training solutions for the bottom of pyramid health workers.
Interclo Designs – Interclo Designs, a social venture based in Singapore, has created a clothing-aid product -Survival Plus – for survivors of natural disasters.Survival Plus can be used as a shawl, a mat, a sleeping bag, a blanket and a poncho.
Local Alike – Local Alike is a Thailand based social enterprise working to promote community-based tourism. Its platform connects hosts from local communities to global travellers and works with local people in developing and supporting local homestays, local tour guides, and unique activities.
Maya Universe Academy – Maya Universe Academy is a non-profit, community supported primary school in Nepal that provides quality education free of cost to rural children.
SOLS 24/7 – SOLS 24/7 (Science of Life Studies 24/7) Cambodia provides high quality and holistic education programmes for disadvantaged and at-risk youths from poor communities. Education is provided in areas of English, Computer skills, ICT, accountancy and character/leadership skills.
Zaya Learning Labs – Zaya’s mission is to transform low-income, underperforming classrooms across India into high-performing learning spaces through a holistic solution that combines technology, training, and pedagogy.
All the 7 finalists will be pitching to an esteemed jury on June 5th, 2014 and the winner of the challenge will be announced on June 6th, 2014.
Checkout this promo video of the awards ceremony. You can watch the live webcast of the award ceremony by registering here.