Hult Prize Japan - Tokyo Impact Summit 2020/2021

Author: Quynh Trang Ho Thi - Hult Prize Japan

Tokyo, Japan - March 27th 2021

On March 27th, 2021, Social Impact Lab Japan was proud to kick-start the Hult Prize Tokyo Impact Summit 2020/2021 on the yearly Food-For-Good Challenge: Transforming Food into a Vehicle of Change. With more than 50 university teams participating from 20 different countries including Japan, the United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia,.. the Hult Prize Impact Summit focused on empowering youths to give their best on developing viable food solutions and transform the world that they were living in.

Hult Prize Impact Summit’s Judges in reviewing rooms - Hult Prize Japan, Tokyo 2021

The Hult Prize competition leverages a unique network of the most innovative leaders and students entrepreneurs, uniting creativity, courage and knowledge to address some of the most important issues facing our society today. In the weeks led to the Impact Summit, Hult Prize Japan has hosted various programs and events that bring together leading minds who are creating ideas and taking bold actions to innovate the food industry. Many of the participating teams were from the most respected educational institutions around the world and Japan, including Waseda, Keio University, Hokkaido University, and Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Judge deliberation for the winning team - Hult Prize Japan, Tokyo 2021

The competition’s ten distinguished judges came from diverse areas of expertise, including sustainable management, impact investing, social entrepreneurship, and more. Their willingness and passion in helping the young generation unlock new technological and entrepreneurial solutions were what helped create the success of the event. This panel of experts determined the teams readiness and potential through a series of insightful questions, and ultimately chose the best of the batches for the next Accelerator program.

“I was so amazed by every teams and every presentations, because they really want to solve the social or environmental issues from the bottom of their hearts” - said one of our honorable judges, Mr. Kotaro Sueyoshi, Head of SDG Desk GM of SME Promotion Department - Mizuho Bank, Ltd. 

Watch Hult Prize Tokyo Impact Summit - Youtube

Judges waved at teams on virtual call for their idea pitches - Hult Prize Japan, Tokyo 2021

The winner of the event - team Mi Terro from USC, is the world's first advanced material company that creates ocean degradable and home compostable packaging materials made from agricultural waste. Instead of turning agricultural waste into beverages or snacks like other companies, the team has been working on giving agricultural waste a new life by repurposing it to replace plastic and paper-based materials and giving additional incomes to farmers all around the world. The team will proceed into the Accelerator Program to increase their scalability and implementation into the market.

Team Mi Terro from University of Southern California (USC) won the first place of Tokyo Impact Summit - Hult Prize Japan, Tokyo 2021

The event concluded with lots of excitement and amazement from all the participants, including the judges, the organizing committee, and more than 200 virtual audiences who had followed through with the Hult Prize journey. Most importantly, despite all the challenges laid ahead, Hult Prize has provided a platform for future entrepreneurs to rise and to find support from their peers, as well as from senior mentors and judges who believe in the mission of innovation and doing business for the greater good.

Organizing Committee and judges panel at Social Impact Lab Japan - Hult Prize Tokyo Impact Summit  2021

To continue the mission of impact, Hult Prize Japan is announcing the next recruitment of Campus Directors for universities in Japan. Visit Hult Prize on Campus for more information about the experiences and benefits of being a Campus Director and lead the movement at your community to change the world!