An international virtual competition has been launched aiming to source tech-based innovations to support safeguarding the jobs of women in readymade garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh and increase the competitiveness of factories.
BRAC, H&M Foundation and The Asia Foundation jointly launched "STITCH for RMG: Global Innovation Challenge" on October 26, according to a statement.
The competition is part of the 'STITCH for RMG' pilot project undertaken by BRAC and H&M Foundation.
The goal of the project is to create an environment to advance women welfare, secure their livelihood and boost Bangladesh's performance in the RMG industry, it said welcoming innovators from around the world to submit viable solutions incorporating these key issues.
Entrepreneurs can submit ideas matching one of the five thematic areas - Automation and Efficiency; Sustainability and Circular Fashion; Product Design, Diversification, and Raw Material; Skill Development and Women's Career; and, Enabling Environment.
Each of the six winners will receive a fund up to $30,000 for pilot implementation. In addition to the grant money, the winning ideas will also receive incubation support, added the statement.
The themes of the challenge are based on the outcomes of the STITCH for RMG Global Innovation Conference held in last June, bringing together over 450 RMG buyers, suppliers, industry experts and tech innovators from around the world in a three-day discussion on leveraging innovation and technology to future proof the jobs of women in the industry.
The discussion is now being led to actions through the innovation challenge.
"Defining the problem is 90 per cent of the solution. We need to reach out to the experts who are already working with workable solutions, seek their help and guidance, and then scale up the solution-oriented prototypes through hackathons," said KAM Morshed, senior director of BRAC.
The competition has no entry free for participants and welcomes innovations in ready prototype, pre-commercial, and post-commercial stage.
The competition will be carried out in three rounds - Concept Round, Pitching Round and Marketplace Round. Interested innovators have to form a team of two to three members and submit their ideas through brac.us.skipsolabs.com/en/login/page.
The application portal that opened on October 25 would remain open till November 25, 2021.
"There is a real need for new approaches to support women in the future garment industry. We have high hopes that the 'STITCH for RMG Global Innovation Challenge' will result in innovations having the potential to improve the industry competitiveness and livelihood of women RMG workers. Our long-term goal is to enable them to safeguard their livelihood by adequately equipping them to work successfully alongside artificial intelligence and automation," says Charlotte Brunnström, strategy lead at H&M Foundation.
Shortlisted teams will be required to pitch their ideas through video submission in the second round.
Top 18 contenders will be able to interact with RMG suppliers in a marketplace setting to submit a joint expression of interest in the third round. Winning six ideas will move on to the pilot execution and incubation phase. One may learn more about the Global Innovation Challenge at stitchforrmg.brac.net.
