Aalto University’s representative team, consisting of Jimin Hong, Joseph Mannil, Ni Luh Nyoman Shita Sekar Padmi, Nina Sirén and Vilma Ylösjoki, supported by Aalto Ventures Program (AVP), proudly brought home an honorary award from Innova Europe 2024, held at Station F in Paris!

Innova Europe is an academic sustainability innovation competition for students and alumni from top European educational institutions. We had the pleasure of participating alongside students and alumni from ESMT Berlin, EDHEC Business School, Polimi Graduate School of Management, ETH Zürich, IE Business School, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Kozminski University and KSE Business Graduate School. Participants pitch concepts that benefit environmental transitions, social progress or holistic well-being, guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The concepts were evaluated based on their impact on society (in relation to SDGs), technology content and innovation, feasibility, overall ambition, diversity of the team and quality of the proposal. The winning prize for the category we participated in, “Young Hopes – Idea Stage,” went to ESMT Berlin, a well-deserved win! However, Our concept, Krishi Krate, was awarded the “Winner of Hearts” by the grand jury.

What went into developing the awarded concept, Krishi Krate? The idea initially emerged from a challenge set out by Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) at the Solve the SDGs 2024 48-hour Hackathon organized by Junction and AVP back in March of 2024.  Luke’s challenge was to create a business model to cut down food loss from harvest to market in South Asia. Mentored by the AVP and ENTU (Entrepreneurship Unit at Aalto School of Business) team, we further refined and developed the concept to prepare for the Innova Europe competition.

Our mentoring team — My Nguyen, Anna Dementyeva, Duy (Teddy) Tran, and Apurva Ganoo — played crucial roles in shaping our journey. My guided us on how to turn cold contacts into meaningful collaborations, while Anna helped us sharpen our on-stage delivery for pitching. Last but not least, Teddy and Apurva taught us the art of networking and gave us valuable insights into business model development, which helped us refine our project and bring it to the next level.

For us, sustainable innovation isn’t about maximizing profits for investors but ensuring that financial gains benefit the farmers and their communities directly.

The concept, Krishi Krate, focuses on providing affordable cold storage for smallholder farmers in South Asia, who often face significant post-harvest losses. These losses undermine their financial stability and limit their ability to invest in future harvests. To tackle this, we utilized a low-tech solution: reusable cooling bags using phase change materials (PCM) designed to fit standard vegetable crates. PCM works by storing cold or hot energy within and then slowly releasing it throughout the day, in the case of Krishi Krate, allowing for passive cooling. While it’s not the most advanced technology, it is a mature one that offers a practical and immediate answer to an urgent problem.

Affordability was key, as many farmers face financial constraints. To lower the initial investment, we proposed offering the cooling bags on a subscription basis. Additional revenue could come from ads placed on the bags and corporate social responsibility funds, although we wanted to avoid over-reliance on third-party funding. Instead, we aimed for a profit-sharing model, reinvesting profits into community projects chosen by the farmers themselves. Krishi Krate would also help farmers collaborate, enabling them to fulfill larger orders and negotiate better prices together.

Before the mentorship, in the spring of 2024, our team took part in the Sustainable Global Technology (SGT) Studio course, together with Silja Kosamo and our mentor Avinash Dhital, working with two Nepalese institutions—Asian Institute of Technology and Management and Sagarmatha Engineering College—to understand Nepal’s food systems. Over five months, we gathered insights from literature and interviews with Nepalese farmers, market reps, and agricultural experts. Our goal was to explore the complex challenges smallholder farmers face in South Asia. Nepal, for example, has shifted from being an agricultural exporter to relying heavily on imports, with smallholder farmers struggling to compete with the price of imported produce from government-subsidized industrial farms. This foundational work was crucial. While we don’t claim to solve these systemic issues, we focused on finding minor leverage points where we can make a practical, incremental impact.

This brings us to an important reflection: what should our role as foreign actors be in this context? While the smallholder farmer is both our main stakeholder and customer, we don’t want to create a model that extracts money from already vulnerable communities. Instead, as founders, we see ourselves as facilitators—gathering initial funding, connecting stakeholders, and gradually stepping back to allow local actors to take over. Our goal is to build a foundation for local ownership, promoting food sovereignty and resilience. For us, sustainable innovation isn’t about maximizing profits for investors but ensuring that financial gains benefit the farmers and their communities directly.

While we’re still deciding the future of Krishi Krate, the experiences from Innova Europe, working with our mentoring team, collaborating with Luke, and participating in the SGT Studio, has been invaluable. Winning the ‘Winner of the Heart’ award was a meaningful recognition, but it’s just one step in a longer journey. This project has been a valuable way to explore what a sustainable business model could look like. Regardless of what comes next, the skills and insights we’ve gained will continue to guide us in future endeavors.

We are incredibly grateful to our mentoring team, Aalto Ventures Program and Entrepreneurship Unit at Aalto School of Business, and Innova Europe for giving us the platform to share our ideas. A special thank you to the competition sponsors BNP Paribas, Ring Capital, BNP Paribas Banque Privée, BivwAk, and Station F for making this experience possible.

Team Krishi Krate was chosen from the participants of Solve the SDGs to take part in the competition. You can learn more about Krishi Krate and their team from our blog.

Authors:

Jimin Hong
Joseph Mannil
Ni Luh Nyoman Shita Sekar Padmi
Nina Sirén
Vilma Ylösjoki