Delhi: Eco-friendly and low cost start-ups galore at expo for kids of govt schools

As part of its ‘Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum’, the government had started the Business Blasters programme across all its senior secondary schools in September 2021 by giving Rs 2,000 as seed money to class XI and XII students to develop their entrepreneurship ideas. After several rounds of screening, 100 teams were selected for the expo. Members of the top 10 teams will get direct admission to BBA courses in Delhi government universities.

A lot of the start-ups on display had a very strong focus on being eco-friendly and sustainable, as well as low cost. There was also emphasis on products for school-going girls like washable period underwear and reusable sanitary napkin holders.

“We have experienced in school, how difficult it gets when you’re constantly worried about getting a stain or have to keep rushing to the bathroom to change pads. In this underwear, which we have made using bamboo fibre, banana fibre and microfibre, you can easily manage a flow of around six hours if it’s moderate. It is eco-friendly because it can be washed, and it can be worn up to one year,” said Himanshi, from SKV, JJ Colony, Wazirpur. Each costs Rs 300, whereas the production cost is Rs 250.

Another start-up that used eco-friendly products was Vishwas Flutes, made by students of SBV, Peeragarhi, who used PVC and UPVC from construction sites and hardware shops to make the flutes which sound as good as the traditional ones. “Usually these pipes are thrown away, but we used this to make flutes. We make the markings at appropriate distances and then put a tuning cork on one end of the flute. Bamboo flutes usually cost Rs 4,000 onwards, these cost as low as Rs 400. They’re also undisturbed by humidity and last much longer,” said Aditya Kumar, one of the students.

Several investors who visited the stalls said they would invest. A lot of them had come from different states, just for the expo. Ranjan Anandan, MD of Sequoia Capital, said, “I often wonder what is the future of India. This morning it became very clear to me. Business Blasters and EMC is the answer to ‘how do we create 100 million jobs in India’.”

“What these children have delivered with the seed money of just Rs 1,000-Rs 2,000 is exceptional. The best part is that their ideas have originated from the needs of the community. Being impressed by them, I have already invested in three business ideas — Biothene, Gr8 Adverts, and TechUp,” said Rajeev Saraf, CEO of Lepton Software from Gurgaon.