The winners of Battle of Minds, BATās global business competition, have been announced!
Battle of Minds 2021, running for a third time and now in partnership with BATās corporate venture arm, Btomorrow Ventures (BTV), aims to discover the brightest, early-career business minds around the globe.
This yearās contest was focused on ESG, with each team pitching to solve a challenge focused on culture, farming, waste or energy. ESG is a key driver of BATās transformation journey to build A Better Tomorrowā¢ for all stakeholders and is at the core of our business.
The competition saw 2,700+ teams enter from 27 countries, back in May. After a total of 31 local rounds they were whittled down to a final 12, who attended last weekās virtual final.
The winners were Team Ijo, from Indonesia who impressed the judges with their proposal to produce environmentally friendly, edible straws made of seaweed. Ijo will receive up to Ā£50,000 from BTV, to implement the idea. They will also be considered for a place on an upcoming accelerator programme for start-ups, which is run by BTV and BATās ESG team.
The three runners up, from Egypt, Kenya and Venezuela, won up to a Ā£25,000 investment each from BTV, with all winning teams also landing employment opportunities as Global Graduates or interns across BAT.
The three runners-upsā ideas were:
- ĢżTeam Egypt: creating a high-quality gelatine out of marine waste.
- ĢżTeam Kenya: recycling cigarette butts to make planters for urban farming and manure for cultivation.
- ĢżTeam Venezuela: aiming to reduce energy poverty by generating an alternative and clean source of energy from plant photosynthesis.
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Yulia Begemann, BATās Group Head of Talent Acquisition, said: āThe standard of entries this year was remarkable and it was incredibly tough to decide on a winner.
āBattle of Minds is now a fixture in the ĢĒŠÄĢ½»Øcalendar and provides a wonderful platform for these early career talents to contribute to our A Better Tomorrow transformation journey.ā
Participants were tasked with developing an innovative product and were judged on the following criteria:
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- ĢżStrong original idea.
- ĢżSolid depth of research and analytics.
- ĢżBusiness feasibility.
- ĢżHigh-quality business plan.
- ĢżPresentation skills and teamwork.
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The promotional campaign for Battle of Minds via our social media channels produced impressive results, reaching 7 million people (up 87% on last year), and generating 35.5 million impressions (+35%).
On the ĢĒŠÄĢ½»Øjudging panel this year were: Lukasz Garbowski, BTV Investment Director; Marcos Salvadego, Group Head of Leaf; Tracy Oates ā Senior ESG Policy & Engagement Manager; and Ase Bergstedt, Sustainability Capability Manager.
Keen to participate in next yearās Battle of Minds competition? Follow ĢĒŠÄĢ½»ØonĢżĢżto find out more.