Six student teams were crowned champions at the final pitching session of the Business Case Competition at the Chamber on 15 and 16 June. Eighteen teams competed in the final round: these had been whittled down through several rounds of selections from around 200 teams consisting of more than 450 students. 

The overall theme this year was Defining the New Normal, under which the six sponsor companies each set a specific business case for the students to solve. The students also had the opportunity to discuss and refine their projects with staff members from their sponsor company during the mentorship stage. 

The aim of the competition is to develop the links between Hong Kong's young people and the business community. It also gives the students the opportunity to apply the skills they have learned in class to real-life situations.

In the final event, each of the teams gave a five-minute presentation on their proposals, and then were grilled by judges from the sponsor company on their suggestions. In choosing the winners, the judges used five criteria: innovation, relevancy to the business case, feasibility, impact and presentation. 

The champion team in each track won HK$30,000, with first and second runners-up receiving HK$20,000 and HK$10,000 respectively, as well as internship opportunities and student membership of the Chamber.

"It has been fantastic to see the hard work of the students come to fruition in the final stage of the Business Case Competition," said HKGCC CEO George Leung. 

"I have been particularly impressed by the students' understanding of the issues facing businesses today, as well as the innovative solutions that they have come up with. I'm sure they all have a bright future ahead of them."   

Citibank: Enhancing ESG Performance for Small and Medium Enterprises

Many SMEs are lacking in knowledge about ESG, according to team Accelerator. Their winning project created an app called ESGo to share information and resources to help small companies learn about and implement ESG principles, and to encourage communication. The team also considered a range of scenarios where they would be able to tweak the project if take-up had not lived up to expectations.

Anson Kwok, Head of Commercial Bank, Citi Hong Kong, said that the standards of all three final projects, as well as the students' presentation skills, had been very high.

"The solutions were very innovative and tailored to the needs of clients, and many of the ideas were feasible," he said. "I hope you take the spirit of this programme and the passion that you have shown to whatever career you choose; I'm sure you will all be very successful."

DHL: Mission 2050: Zero Emission Target – A Green Leap into the Sustainable Logistics Era

The DHL business case focused on helping the company continue to reduce its carbon emissions. The winning team Hygge offered solutions including replacing the corrugated cartons currently in use with reusable containers, modifications to warehouse design to reduce energy use, and more electric vehicles. 

Mark Slade, Managing Director Hong Kong and Macao at DHL Global Forwarding, said that the support from the students for DHL's sustainability journey was inspiring. 

"I was very impressed with how the students managed to give their presentations under the severe time constraints," he said. "And my colleagues asked some tough questions that the students answered very well. Today's teams really were the best of the best." 

The team said that they had spent a lot of time practicing their presentation to get it right, and were pleased to hear the direct feedback from the judges on their project. 

Great Eagle: Rethinking the Hotel Industry: 2025 and Beyond

In their winning project, BELKK looked at current issues affecting the hotel sector such as the lack of oversea tourists and fluctuating manpower needs. They created an app that not only allows self-check-in but also has a range of features including personalized recommendations, bookings for events outside the hotel, and a digital wallet. 

BELKK team members said the highlight of the competition had been the opportunity to visit the Langham and Eaton hotels and go behind the scenes. 

Violet Wong, Corporate Communications Manager at Great Eagle, said that innovation and creativity are very important for the hotel industry, so it was great to hear insights and opinions from the students. 

"The competition is also an opportunity for Great Eagle to nurture the young generation," she added. "Congratulations to all the teams; they all did a great job."

NWS: Leverage the Business and Financial Strengths of NWS to Bring Social Benefits Under the New Normal

The winning team, Day Day Live, suggested that NWS create a system of carbon credits to encourage businesses to become more sustainable. They noted that NWS businesses include several sectors that are suitable for decarbonisation, like construction, logistics and road management. 

Team members Wong On Yan and Wong Hing Wai said that the contest had been an eye-opening experience that had required a lot of research, as they had started from scratch in learning about the ESG world. 

Ben Wong, Director of Corporate Development and Investment at NWS, applauded all the students for their efforts to learn about topics outside their academic studies, including how to communicate their ideas effectively. 

"Today, we saw some very good presentations, with different styles, and I'm sure the teams also learnt from each other," he said. "Learning how to organize your thoughts and get your message across is a very important skill." 

PwC: New Technologies are Disrupting Business as Usual

In PwC's case, students were tasked to use blockchain, Open API or data analytics to identify potential business use cases. The winner was Sicuro, whose project analyzed data from local people to improve the urban environment and citizens' health. 

Sicuro team member Sahabudeen Asimudeen noted that the judges had asked detailed questions. 

"We have learned that this is only the beginning of the project and that we would run into problems if we brought it live too soon," he said. "So we know we have to anchor down and keep going."  

Alan Chan, Associate Director at PwC, said that the participants should all be proud of their efforts. 

"The students came up with interesting ideas trying to solve different issues – in the credit insurance, health and social areas," he said. "These are all important problems facing society, and the projects align with what PwC is doing to try to solve society's issues."

Sino Group: Wellness of Daily Living

Sino's topic prompted different solutions from the finalists, including an eco-friendly clubhouse and a healthy-choices food app. The winning team, The Developer, came up with the idea of using rooftops of buildings for glamping holidays. They also considered potential problems such as health and safety, and noise concerns.

"In developing our project we had a lot of ideas and a lot of heated debates," said Grace Li from The Developer. "We also did a lot of research and visited different Sino locations to learn more about the group." 

Bella Chhoa, Director of Asset Management at Sino Group, said she was impressed by the three teams' ideas and presentations. Chhoa also explained why the questions had been so tough.

"We were testing your responses to senior staff, which is something you will encounter when you start working," she said. "This was a really good exercise to help you bridge the gap between college and the business world."

Citibank  

′  Champion: Accelerator (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, City University of Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong)

′  1st Runner-up: BELKK (The University of Hong Kong)

′  2nd Runner-up: Flower Flag (The University of Hong Kong,  The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

DHL  

′  Champion: Hygge (City University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) 

′  1st Runner-up: Beyond me (Hong Kong Metropolitan University) 

′  2nd Runner-up: MODE (The University of Hong Kong)

Great Eagle Group   

′  Champion: BELKK (The University of Hong Kong) 

′  1st Runner-up: BDG (The University of Hong Kong)

′  2nd Runner-up: Eternals (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

NWS Holdings Limited    

′  Champion: Day Day Live (The University of Hong Kong)  

′  1st Runner-up: Hygge (City University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) 

′  2nd Runner-up: Alchemy (The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

PwC     

′  Champion: Sicuro (The University of Hong Kong)  

′  1st Runner-up: Enertime (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The University of Hong Kong) 

′  2nd Runner-up: Chrysanthemum Throne (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

Sino Group     

′  Champion: The Developer (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong) 

′ 1st Runner-up: Greenery (The University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong)

′  2nd Runner-up: WTW (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)