Den of Equity

In the UNLEASH 2019 Dragons’ Den, global teams of talents sparked an electric evening of SDG-related innovation

SHENZHEN, CHINA — Just 70 years ago, this dynamic city of innovation was a tiny fishing village, with a population of only 5,000. Now it’s one of the world’s leading mega-cities, with a population of more than 12 million, and with a metropolitan area of around 20 million+.

The metaphorical symbol of Shenzhen’s innovation is the factory — and what better place to have the Dragons’ Den finale of UNLEASH 2019 than the I-FACTORY, a former industrial factory converted into a cultural creative park and showcase space?

That was the setting last night as the 1,000 talents in 10 different UNLEASH tracks gathered to see the best-judged teams from each track face off in front of four “Dragons,” including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee.

The day started off earlier at the Vanke Design Center, where the four teams in the newly established Storyteller track unveiled their work. The teams showcased aspirational long-term video projects that tackled such issues as how sports and education can often be at cross purposes, particularly in Brazil; homelessness in San Francisco; how the global inequality gap dramatically impacts even those with professional degrees; and unique education perspectives from the physically disabled.

The action then shifted to downtown in Futian, where an UNLEASH Marketplace at Inno-Park showed off the work of all of the teams in the eight SDG-related tracks. The bustling open-air space attracted many Shenzhenners, curious to see the faces of young people from 162 different countries, displaying the incredible, planet-saving projects they devised in a very short amount of time.

Adjacent to the Marketplace, a stage showcased another Dragons’ Den, this one for the UNLEASH Plus track, another new addition to the UNLEASH family. UNLEASH Plus was developed to give UNLEASH-incubated projects (and their creators) further opportunities to innovate and ideate, and attract investors.

Finally, the scene shifted to the aforementioned I-Factory, where talents, partners (like Chemonics and the Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association), and VIPs mingled over dinner and drinks in the open-air courtyard.

After a riveting performance by acrobatic Chinese cultural “dragons,” and introductions to the four actual dragons — Nicholas Parker, Chairman of Parker Venture Management, Inc.; Nena Stoiljkovic, Vice President for Asia and the Pacific, the IFC; Anders Hammarback, Partner, Antler; and Ms. Gbowee — the awards process began.

The eight track winners were:

SDG: 3, Health

• Team: Cryptics
• Problem: 90,000 babies die each year due to neonatal asphyxia in Nigeria
• Solution: A low-tech, ultra-low cost CPAP machine

SDG: 4, Education

• Team: S-Coolwear
• Problem: Children in Pakistan drop pout of school because it is too hot to attend classes, especially outdoors
• Solution: Cooling school uniforms that help reduce students’ discomfort in Pakistan’s stifling heat

SDG: 6, Clean Water and Sanitation

• Team: Dignity
• Problem: Open-defecation in India creates sanitation problems, and subjects women to sexual violence
• Solution: The Poop-It card, a rewards system that will help stop open defecation and benefit people who use a toilet with retail points

SDG: 7, Energy

• Team: Biobag
• Problem: Fuel too expensive on farms in Cameroon
• Solution: A gas bag that uses renewable energy from human and animal waste on farms in that country

SDG: 9, Industry and Innovation

• Team: Twenty2
• Problem: Noise pollution can be deceptively detrimental to health, as well as peace of mind, particularly in Asian urban centers
• Solution: A sound-absorbing, translucent lightweight curtain to reduce dangerous noise pollution

SDG: 11, Sustainable Cities

• Team: WeeBus
• Problem: Parents spend much of their time — and money on gas — driving their children around to school and other activities.
• Solution: An app and community that creates a safe, energy-saving group-walking alternative to driving kids

SDG: 12, Responsible Consumption and Production

• Team: The Accelerators
• Problem: Young fashion consumers in Sweden want to be more eco-conscious, but they don’t know how to make informed choices
• Solution: A chip inserted into clothing that lets consumers know if their purchases are eco-friendly — and that further gives them information on the life cycle of that clothing item (including, post-donation, whether it has been recycled)

SDG: 13, Climate Action

• Team: Routes for Roots
• Problem: Coastal erosion in Colombian cliffsides
• Solution: Creates coast-shielding eco-terraces, allowing vegetation to take root and build sturdier, more permanent terrain

As each new track was presented in a two-team face off, the talents in the audience from the respective SDG track broke out into raucous cheers — seemingly a unique cheer for each track. The energy was electric all evening, which ended late, with a beautiful full moon ascending over the former factory’s smokestack. With the UNLEASH 2019 closing ceremonies just a few hours from now, the innovation at UNLEASH 2019 had come to a close. Or had it just begun?