Grameenphone Accelerator 3.0 Conducts Regional Design Thinking Bootcamp in Khulna

The Regional Design Thinking Bootcamps are a part of the Grameenphone Accelerator 3.0  catered towards aspiring ideapreneurs. These Bootcamps aim to find the best startup ideas from across the nation. For this, GPA selects the top 25 ideas from each region to validate their idea along with a unique proposition through the Design Thinking Bootcamp. The day-long Bootcamp is designed to equip the participants with defined knowledge and skills by using the Design Thinking Principles. 

The Regional Design Thinking Bootcamp for Khulna was conducted at Sheikh Kamal IT Incubation & Training Centre, on the 24th of June 2022. The Bootcamp was divided into 7 segments to engage the participants. The session followed the  following structure: 

Session 1: Design Thinking in Business & Human-Centered Design(HCD)

In this interactive session, the participants were taught the six-step process of Design Thinking; observation, ideation, rapid prototyping, user feedback, iteration, and finally, the implementation of HCD to formulate robust business strategies. Moreover, they were taught the tools & techniques of Design Thinking, and how Design Thinking principles can serve as a systematic and innovative tool to solve complex real-life challenges. They also acquired real-world insight on how practical global and local brands/products have excelled using HCD principles. 

Session 2: Prototype & Experiment

This session was carried out as a group activity. Here, the participants were given a real-life problem and were divided into random teams. Application of critical thinking by the participants was required to devise a solution to address the problem using the HCD principles taught earlier. 

Session 3: Group Presentation

Following the ‘Prototype & Experiment’ session, the teams were asked to present their solutions in front of everyone. Along with the solutions being presented, business presentation skills were also focused on in this session. 

Session 4: Product Development & BMC

This was an interactive session where participants were given an in-depth idea about the different elements of the Business Model Canvas and how they can be used at the initial stage of one’s business. Furthermore, they were taught how new product ideas can be planned and generated, and identify what methods are used to evaluate new product ideas. They also gained knowledge about real-world practical global and local products that can be developed using HCD principles. 

Session 5: The Art of Pitching-Pitch Clinic

As the name of the session suggests, this segment was focused on teaching the participants about the dos and donts of the art of pitching so that they can present their ideas to investors and secure investments for their venture. This was an interactive session where the participants got all their questions answered about pitching. 

Session 6: Individual Pitch Preparation

Followed by the session on the ‘Art of Pitching’, the participants were given 20 minutes to prepare to pitch their business ideas in front of the judges.

Session 7: Pitch Presentation & Feedback

In the last session of the Regional Design Thinking Bootcamp, the participants presented their business ideas to the judges. Each participant was allocated 2 minutes. At the end of the pitch, they received valuable feedback from the judges that helped them improve at pitching. 

The sessions were conducted by Ivdad Ahmed Khan Mojlish, Managing Director and Co-founder at LightCastle Partners.

From the 19 teams who pitched their business ideas, the judges selected the idea of an IoT Based Electrical Monitoring System, SEnergy as the winner. This idea was proposed to optimize electricity usage in households. Some of the other ideas worth mentioning are Crack the Grad, Fruitify, and Haje.

• ‘Crack the Grad’ aims to assist students in getting into the institutions of their choice. It is a database and app platform for students that contains pertinent information, such as guidelines for crafting a statement of purpose for the university of your choice and the average admission scores needed for tests like the TOEFL, GMAT, GRE, and IELTS. For the benefit of students traveling to their favorite universities, it also includes the contact details of prior graduates.
• ‘Fruitify’ is geared toward uplifting people’s well-being by enhancing the production of natural preservatives, which have been shown via research to be safer.
• The startup concept ‘Haje’ is built around the idea of live location sharing. In this case, two smartwatches (Haje Bands) will be linked together by Bluetooth, exchanging data back and forth. This will allow users to track each other’s locations without the need for WI-FI or internet connectivity, making it easier for individuals to keep track of their loved ones.

The judges were Ivdad Ahmed Khan Mojlish, Managing Director at LightCastle Partners, and Mrinmoy Sobhan, Business Consultant at LightCastle Partners. The participants were marked based on the understanding of the concepts acquired throughout the Bootcamp and the feasibility of the idea.  

The regional partner for GPA 3.0 Design Thinking Bootcamp was KUET Business and Entrepreneurship Club, which helped facilitate the event. The Bootcamp ended with a closing ceremony which was graced by the following guests who attended the GPA 3.0 program: 

• Chief Guest: Mukul Kumar Maitri, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Education, and ICT 
• Honorable Guest: Syed Rafiee Abied, Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate
• Ivdad Ahmed Khan Mojlish, Co-Founder and Managing Director, LightCastle Partners

Special guests who were also present on the day were:

• Mehedi Hassan, Chief Coordinator, Startup Khulna 
• Prof. Dr. A.B.M. Aowlad Hossain, Moderator, KBEC
• Pranto Karua, Co-moderator, KBEC

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