US$ 50,000 for '500 Hours'?
Disrupt Unlimited, a local start-up investment programme spearheaded by apparel maker Brandix, has put up US$ 50,000 (approximately Rs. 6.5 million) in funding, for each team, to be won as a part of its novel "500 Hours" competition, which it announced recently.
According to the announcement, at the "kick-off event in December, industry experts will pitch a set of global challenges with the largest market opportunities to the selected group of innovators. Participants will then form teams and begin to identify root causes and understand the apparel domain through factory visits and discussions with the experts Each team will have three weeks (500 hours) to work on a conceptual solution and pitch to be a part of the seed accelerator. Startups that make the cut will launch their entrepreneurial journeys with seed funding up to US$ 50,000 each".
"500 Hours goes beyond a traditional competition by enabling innovators from all backgrounds and disciplines to commercialise their technologydriven ideas and solve crucial challenges across the Apparel supply chain. Gaining rare insight into the opportunities in the Apparel, Textile, and Accessories industries, entrepreneurs who participate in this challenge are expected to go on to build game-changing start-ups", commented Disrupt Unlimited Chief Operating Officer Surendra Karunakaran, quoted in the statement.
He also added that "(innovators), entrepreneurs, and problem-solvers with ambition in their genes are all invited to compete and solve some of the biggest global challenges faced in the apparel industry. For the best chance at success, a start-up needs three key ingredients: an exciting market opportunity, a great team, and a fantastic product. 500 Hours is about bringing together those elements to give aspiring entrepreneurs the edge from the outset".
The statement also indicated that applications for the competition were already available online, at disruptunlimited.com, with the entries closing time and date identified as 11.59 p.m. on Monday, November 24, 2014, and the competition itself set to start following the end of the kick-off event in December.
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