An international entrepreneurship event, Diamond Challenge was first initiated in 2012. Hosted by the Delaware University every year. As years passed, more people started participating and DU started partnering with more organizations for the event, in different parts of the world. Every year, with the help of partnered organizations and sponsors worldwide. Hack Embassy happens to be one of those partners.
The world’s top-rated entrepreneurship competition for high-school pupils, Diamond Challenge provides students with the opportunity of taking purposeful entrepreneurial action. It focuses on unleashing the creativity within, encouraging self-determination, and an abundant approach towards everything. Additionally, the Diamond Challenge empowers the youth through entrepreneurship and offers up to $100000 for prizes.
Diamond Challenge 2020
Every year, all around the world, pitch event partners conduct the Diamond Challenge. These Pitch Events are the first stage and the national level event. Once the national level of the challenge is completed, the winning teams are shortlisted for the Global pitching sessions, that is, the International Round held in the USA. There, the semi-finalist teams compete for the winning positions in a three-day summit
However, Diamond Challenge had a little more to address this year than it usually has to. Of course, like all events scheduled for 2020, Diamond Challenge also had to change its ways due to Covid-19. There couldn’t be an on-spot event. However, everything continued virtually. Although the otherwise three-day summit was shifted to a two-week-long online summit, the event still managed to flow fluently. Despite the huge number of entries received (739 submissions – 5000+ students, and 73 semifinalist teams from 30 countries), the virtual summit was an incredible success.
Diamond Challenge in Pakistan
As mentioned earlier, Hack Embassy partnered with Delaware University to organize the Diamond Challenge in Pakistan. The partnership established in 2019 for the event of 2020, held in Karachi, Sindh. Moving on, Diamond Challenge offers two aspects for competitions, one is business innovation while the other one is social innovation. The competition branch offered by Hack Embassy for Pakistani’s was for social innovation.
The input and output of the event were both tremendous. There were multiple entries by schools and individuals alike. Hack Embassy also arranged on-campus preparatory workshops for a few schools to understand what the Diamond Challenge is and how it works. Akhuwat Foundation runs both of these schools. Although the entire pitch event was supposed to take place physically in Karachi, the semi-final round was canceled. The entire Diamond Challenge 2020 summit also directed virtually.
The winning team for the Pakistan round for 2020 was from Lahore.
Here is a sneak-peak of the event: Hack Embassy Live Video
Pakistani Youth
The Diamond Challenge serves as a catalyst that thrusts high-school students with great entrepreneurial ambitions to the next level. Furthermore, it allows these young people to establish meaningful connections along with providing helpful resources and feedback. This challenge brings together students from different countries, backgrounds, and ethnicities; for the same purpose. In these three days, students get to interact with each other thereby, getting to learn more about each other, too.
Pakistan, where names like Khalida Brohi have already made headlines in social innovation and entrepreneurship, is a place where there are ideas in abundance but the resources aren’t. Thus, Diamond Challenge served as a great opportunity for Pakistani Youth. The high-school students of Pakistan got a feasible opportunity to present their ideas in front of a global audience and jury. As well as, to get the required elements to put their ideas to test.
Take note that the idea mentioned here is of feasibility. Why so? Because for those who weren’t in Karachi, and were not able to travel to Karachi for various reasons, they had the choice to attend the event virtually. Consequently, it became easier to enter the event. The semi-finalist team from Pakistan (EZ Water) won third place in the final round and was awarded $3500.
Overall, Diamond Challenge 2020 proved to be a wonderful opportunity for the youth of Pakistan and Hack Embassy was delighted to be able to give this opportunity to all the enthusiastic people who participated! Congratulations to EZ Water, to all the participants, and to all the teams who’ll take their opportunity in the years to come. Cheers to all of you!
