The pilot edition of Coopathon in April 2018 saw 100+ young students from across the southern Indian states compete at the country’s premier institute - Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. Building on this innovative initiative, ICA-AP organized the second edition of Coopathon 2.0 on January 29 at the NCUI headquarters, to source sustainable, innovative and technologically-enabled solutions to address various challenges in the co-operative sector. Coopathon 2.0 was thus intended to be a two-way street where young professionals/students were not only expected to deliver solutions to problems faced by co-operatives and but also to be made aware of the co-operative movement in general, so that its ultimate goal of 'Promoting Cooperative Entrepreneurship Among Youth' can be fulfilled. The event saw inspiring ideas and solutions compete for attractive prizes. Participants came from various Indian cities like Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Patiala, Kundli, and Bangalore. They were mentored by some of the best minds from the fields of technology and co-operatives in India and abroad, to fine tune their ideas before their presentations in front of an expert jury.

Teams presenting their ideas to the jury

Team Tech-Coop(s) bagged the first prize by coming up with an online platform intended to act as a bridge between co-operatives and private companies through which private companies can invest in co-operatives under the head of Corporate Social Responsibility. Team Techmites was the first runner up which attempted the problem given by Buldana Urban Coop Credit Society (BUCCS) and came up with a prototype to streamline warehouse transactions intended to maintain a database and save work-hours of different stakeholders. The 2nd Runner up, Team Saksham took a shot at the ICA-AP's problem statement for developing an online platform where young people who wish to form co-operatives will find mentors, funding agencies and knowledge repository required to take ahead the cooperative movement. Finally Team Go-Getters got an honorable mention for attempting Vasundhara Agri Horti Producer Co. Ltd's problem statement.

The next steps for ICA-AP are to devise ways to assist these teams in realizing the solutions and contribute to an eco-systems where young people are contributing to the visibility and sustainability of co-operatives.

The winning Teams pose with the mentors and ICA-AP Staff