Idea of cricket powder of CrickeOne wins $15,000 at VietChallenge 2020. — Photo courtesy of the organiser

HÀ NỘI — CricketOne, a start-up supplying food ingredients extracted from crickets, won a prize at VietChallenge, a global competition for Vietnamese innovators, on Sunday.

CricketOne is one of the global leaders in supplying a sustainable and affordable protein that replaces conventional animal and grain protein. It has won at many competitions for start-ups such as Blue Venture Award 2019 in Việt Nam and The Venture 2020 in Canada.

Receiving US$15,000 in cash, Bicky Nguyen, co-founder of CricketOne, said she and the whole company were very happy and touched when discovery they had won.

“With all the efforts of the entire company, VietChallenge 2020 Champion is one of the most deserving achievements that we and CricketOne have received,” she said.

This year was the fifth edition of VietChallenge, featuring 200 teams around the world. Organisers selected the six best start-ups with diverse business models, in different fields such as education, medical services, engineering technology, robotics, attending the online final round.

CEO of VietChallenge Steven Tai Nguyen said the equity crowdfunding in the US is becoming more accessible to international start-ups, specifically Vietnamese. 

Ambassador of Việt Nam to the US Hà Kim Ngọc emphasised the role of VietChallenge as an important network between young people and domestic and foreign entrepreneurs in technology development and application.

He said: “This is a platform for incubating and developing start-up ideas in technology, as well as being a place for networking and exchanging opportunities for cooperation, fostering entrepreneurship among young Vietnamese, thereby connecting Vietnamese people nationally and internationally, including everyone who is living, studying, and working in the US.” 

In addition to the special sections of the VietChallenge Finals, discussions were held by famous speakers and guests from the start-up ecosystem. VNS