Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Calcutta:

They gave Id celebrations at home a miss to pitch their business module before a roomful of entrepreneurs. Azhar Rabbani and Mohammad Wasim Ali Ansari, along with Ayush Singh, have devised a plan to provide easy accommodation to outstation students through an app.

The three friends beat six other teams to bag the first prize at The Kidoprenuer Summit, in association with The Telegraph, at Novotel on Saturday. Co-hosted by Sonali’s Cubo, Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce and Srei Infrastructure Finance, the one-of-its-kind conclave gave young entrepreneurs a chance to showcase their innovative business ideas.

The OFY (Only For You) Homes project hopes to address the accommodation problems that students of other cities face when they come to Calcutta to study. “More than 60 colleges in and around the city don’t offer hostel facilities and at any time around 30,000 students are looking for a place to stay,” said Ayush, 17, a student of Shree Jain Vidyalaya.

The boys plan to offer standardised paying guest accommodation and flats on rent through an app. “Students can rent a home for any period of time and also share it with a maximum of four roommates. We will offer packages. They can get food, Internet, electricity and other amenities at Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 a month,” said Azhar, 18, of Seth Anandram Jaipuria College.

College mate Wasim, 18, said the trio have been working out the logistics for the past three months. “We hope to launch the app by the year end. We are tying up with people who rent out rooms,” he said.

Yubasana Kapas, 14, of Gokhale Memorial Girls’ School won the third prize for her plan to showcase Bengal’s art and culture before foreign patrons.

Three students – Kaushik Sardar, Shane Romel Kujur and Gaurav Bordoloi – from National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, bagged the second prize for Pedals Go, an app-based rental plan for bicycles.

“The event has brought three generations of entrepreneurs on one platform,” said Vayjayanti Pugalia, who curated the event.

The summit saw young entrepreneurs from across the country exchange notes with business stalwarts from the city and share their stories and challenges.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Chandreyee  Ghose (additional reporting by Samabrita Sen) / June 17th, 2018