2020 AIS Innovation Challenge: Creating Resilient Businesses

Deadline: 30-Jun-20

The Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Secretariat decides to seek creative ideas and breakthrough solutions that can help archipelagic and island states’ economy and businesses to be more adaptive and resilient during a crisis situation.

As an organization that leverages technology and entrepreneurship in achieving the objectives, AIS Secretariat intends to discover solutions that can help archipelagic and island states to have stronger and more resilient economies and businesses.

The 2020 AIS Innovation Challenge: Creating Resilient Businesses is a two-round business competition that is looking for a solution or business idea that can withstand a crisis situation or help other companies or societies at large overcome one.

Objective

To find innovative ideas and breakthroughs that can help societies and businesses to be more resilient and adaptive during crisis situations. The event seeks to gather participants from AIS participating countries and encourage cooperation between them. They are looking for solutions or business ideas that will strengthen the economy of archipelagic and island states, which in most cases, are more vulnerable to climate change impacts (i.e, sea-level rise, heavy storm, long drought, etc), unsustainable use of ocean resources, marine plastic debris, and other natural disasters (i.e, earthquake, mount eruption, tsunami).

Benefits

The 1st winner will get prize money of $10,000 and the runner-up will receive $5000. The top-10 teams get a chance to present their business in front of investors and bring their ideas to the AIS Forum High-level Meeting where they get to explain it to the head of states who attend the event.
From application to winner’s announcement, the competition will take around 10 weeks, from the start of application to winners announcement.

Eligibility Criteria

Business Idea
- The proposal must demonstrate at least one of the following requirements:
  - A solution or business idea that can withstand a crisis situation
  - A solution or business idea that assists other businesses to overcome a crisis situation
  - A solution or business idea that can provide benefit to the society in a time of crisis
Team
- A team must consist of at least two people and have at least one member with a nationality from AIS participating countries.
Business Idea Documents
- 1st Round
  - In this round, each team has to submit a 7-page (maximum) pitch deck that describes about:
    - The business idea
    - The market
    - The team
    - 3-year financial projection and metrics
- 2nd Round
  - In this round, the selected teams will conduct a virtual pitching with the panellists. They have to elaborate further how their businesses create value and help other companies or the society at large withstand a crisis situation.