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Criteria for Participation

Participant/s can apply as an individual and a maximum of four people in a team. Participant/s can be from an established company working on an in-house product, a start-up company, a group of students from an educational institute, a team of freelancers, an informal group of friends, etc.
The idea, concept, or product that is submitted can be at any stage. They could be in the idea conception phase, planning phase, development phase or implementation phase provided the product is in operation for not more than 3 years.
The idea, concept, or product that is submitted must have the features of novelty, innovation, and creativity. We are not just looking for a local version of existing ones.
The submitted idea must have a vital component of technology. We are not looking for ideas that are very promising but do have an emphasis on using technology solutions; either low or high fidelity described above.
Participant/s have to take total responsibility for any infringement of intellectual property or other legal issues related to their submissions and KMC shall not be held liable for any issues arising thereof.
The program is open to participant/s who are Nepalese citizens.

What are different kind of technologies that the challenge is looking for?

Prototypes do not necessarily have to look like final products. They can be different in terms of fidelity. The fidelity of a prototype refers to how it presents the smaller and workable version of the real product. As part of this challenge we view technology in two folds as below:

Low fidelity technologies

These are technologies that are not necessarily hi-tech and could be simple enhancements of process and practices for better and tangible results. Some examples of low fidelity technologies used in other parts of the world are Water Wheels, a round 50-liter container that enables people to roll water from water sources rather than carry it on their heads that helped women transport water more efficiently in India and Africa. Another example is Bakeys Edible Cutlery as a replacement to plastic cutlery. Considering the context of Kathmandu and the proposed categories in place, the competition is looking for relevant and actionable ideas.

High fidelity technologies

These are technologies that use modern concepts of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Internet of Things, Blockchain, etc.to bring forward newer approaches to solve problems. Visible technologies in this front could be implementation of mobile apps, hardware sensors, big data, robotics, artificial intelligence, etc

Overall Process

Call for participation and Idea Submission

May 19, 2023 - June 12, 2023

Launch / Application Call
Registration and submission of ideas from May 19, 2023 and ends on June 12, 2023 noon (25 days duration)
Participant/s can apply as an individual or as a team, maximum of 4 members.
The participant/s have to submit ideas under one of the categories mentioned above within the 25 days time frame through an online form

Selection of 100 Ideas

June 13, 2023 - June 18, 2023

Organizers will select as many ideas/ startups that have value from submitted ones based on participating criteria and judging criteria. (5 days duration)
Based on the initial screening done, the selected participant/s can participate in various thematic seminars/ workshops and refine their ideas on the go. Capping the number to 100 applications (100*4 = 400 on average) as we need to be careful with the budget.
Each application is evaluated on the strength of the business case, the financial case, and the trajectory of the team (when applicable). The selected participant/s will advance to the next level of the program.

Mentor Led Sessions and Workshops

June 24, 2023 - July 02, 2023

Organizers in coordination with selected Mentors will conduct sessions and workshops on business/ prototype development, business model/ value proposition, and pitching. The eight days will be focused on workshops led by Mentors who will be assigned six to seven different ideas/ applications each. The sessions they will lead will focus on product/prototype development, developing a business plan, idea pitching, and presentation. The plan is as follows:

The mentor Led 8 days of sessions on what being Entrepreneurial means: Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and Minimal Viable Product development; Business Development; Idea Pitching and Presentation
3 Pitching Days

The selected ideas/ applications will go through various venture-building stages, with a shared goal to develop their ideas and bring them to reality. During this journey, they benefit from the guidance and expertise of experienced mentors and professionals within their respective industries, equipping them with the tools to turn their innovative ideas into reality.

Selection of Top 50 Ideas

July 04, 2023 - July 06, 2023

Teams / individuals need to present their refined and finalized ideas, to a team of jury within a speculated time.
Team of the jury will judge all the refined ideas in reference to judging criteria and select the Top 50 ideas.
There will be 3 pitching days. The marks will be given on the same day.
The results will be announced after a couple of days of discussion after the pitching days.

Judging Criteria for Grand Finale

1. Importance of Subject Matter (Weightage: 30%)

Under this basis, which carries 30% of total score, emphasis shall be laid on the solutions to the problems expressed through relevant thoughts or perspectives. The following aspects shall be considered as the basis for evaluation:

The importance of challenges that the proponent group is trying to solve,
Importance of use of technological solutions for solving such problems,
Status of qualitative and quantitative impacts of the solutions while solving such problems,
Ability to adapt solutions to current or future situations,
Total or partial ability to solve the problem,
Innovativeness and uniqueness of the thoughts and/or processes (Such process should not be a replicate of the process that is already existent somewhere else. However, in the case where the concept is based on already existing ones, innovativeness and uniqueness of such processes should be exhibited while contextualizing it as per local necessity.

2. Solution/ Prototype/ MVP (Weightage: 20%)

Under this basis, which carries 20% of total score, special emphasis shall be laid on the proximate productivity that the thoughts or concepts present. The following aspects will be taken into consideration during the evaluation of productivity:

Explanation of the presented concept of processes as well as ability to establish the relevance of related processes,
Linkage between the proposed technical outline and system with the challenge,
Innovativeness and uniqueness of the tasks that technical means can accomplish,
Aspect of user friendliness and easy-to-understand
Existence and or convenient availability of the proposed or existing technical means in local context

3. Business Model (Weightage: 20%)

Under this basis, which carries 20% of total score, special emphasis shall be laid on aspect where the presented thoughts or concepts builds a prototype of works that can sustain on their own. The following aspects will be taken into consideration during the evaluation of a working prototype:

benefits those processes or concepts provide to its users,
Ability of such processes or concepts to utilize opportunities and address the necessities of the market,
On how much current and future political aspects, economic aspects, social aspects, technological aspects, legal and environmental aspects are in favor for such processes or concepts,
The current and future impact that those concepts put in the market,
The possibility that such concepts can generate income
Plan presented in regard to the sustainability of the concepts.

4. Scalability (Weightage: 20%)

Under the basis that carries 20% of total score, special emphasis shall be laid on aspect where the presented solutions through thoughts or concepts can be possibly expanded in national and international context. The following aspects will be taken into consideration during the evaluation of expandability:

Possibility and ability to extend in the places other than originally implemented,
Measure of ability and capacity to extend of thoughts in international context (other countries, regions etc).

5. Presentation/ Articulation (Weightage: 10%)

Under this basis, which carries 10% of total score, special emphasis shall be laid on the aspects of skills, capability, expertise and clarity of the contestants while presenting or explaining their thoughts or concepts. The following aspects will be taken into consideration during the evaluation of presentation and explanation:

Presentation of overall concept,
Clarity of the explanation in relation to the concept or product,
Linkage of the presentation with the subject matter,
Presentation and relevance of additional materials

Members of Jury (Initial selection of 100 ideas)

Anil Parajuli

Start-ups and Innovation Support Expert

NAMDP Phase 2 Swiss contact

Ankshita Chaudhary

Program Manager

Startup Discovery School

Bijendra Shah

Innovation and Community Lead

Clock b Business Innovations

Kumar Paudel

Co-Founder/Program Director

Youth Innovation Lab

Nawang Sherpa

Director of Impact

Upaya City Cargo

Prakriti Mainali

Executive Board Member

Social Entrepreneurship Fund

Prayas Rajopadhyaya

Director & Training Facilitator

Jobs Dynamics Pvt. Ltd.

Swastika Khanal

Director/Investments

Ultra Group and Dolma Impact Fund

Ujjwal Chapagain

Coordinator

NABIL SSE

Members of Jury (Grand Finale)

Mr. Bhushan Raj Shrestha, PhD

Managing Director / IT Expert

Innovative Solution Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Bishesh Khanal, PhD

Research Scientist and Director

NAAMII

Mr. Rajib Subba, PhD

Pracademic in the field of ICT

Ms. Sajal Pradhan

Entrepreneur and Sustainability Professional

Mentors

Mr. Sandesh Paudyal

Chartered Accountant and CEO

Aasha Venture Fund Pvt. Ltd

Mr. Sohan Babu Khatri

Management Consultant

Mr. Sudip Koirala

Co-founder & CEO of Didi Foundation Nepal and Australia

Mr. Sujit Pandey

Researcher, Educator and Management Practitioner

Mr. Suman Shakya

Entrepreneur, Consultant, and Certified Trainer

Mr. Surya Karki

Co-Founder and Country Director

United World Schools Nepal

Ms. Kripa Poudel

Private Equity & Venture Capital, Impact Investing, Startup Consulting

Kathmandu Metro Idea and Innovation 2080 is an initiative of Kathmandu Metropolitan City that aims to facilitate the space between creators, experienced professionals, and investors by finding workable common ground. The two-week-long event will be giving the entrepreneurs a real-life experience to turn their idea into a minimum viable product (MVP), enhance their business strategy and learn what it takes to run a successful company.

KMC aims to bring out a positive entrepreneurial spirit within the Nepalese community by joining hands with potential investors who are looking towards funding excellent innovations that solve the city’s and/ or country’s persisting problems related to urban development. In the process, we want to see your ways to generate sustainable revenue and also bring significant impact by creating employment opportunities.