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Background:

The HKGCC Business Case Competition is an annual competition hosted by Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC). The competition aims to promote the exchange of ideas between tertiary students and businesses by encouraging students to utilize the skills and knowledge learned in class to develop feasible solutions for real-life business problems. Through this competition, students were provided with an opportunity to develop innovative ideas and creative solutions to crack the business cases formulated by 6 sponsors (Citibank, Great Eagle Group, DHL, Sino Group, PwC and NWS).

The 6 sponsors presented 6 problems and students who passed the first round received mentorship guidance from the respective sponsors to polish their ideas for the second round. The enhanced proposal was then submitted for online voting. At the end, three among five teams were selected as finalists with the refined proposal. The finalists had to give a 5-minute presentation followed by 5 minutes of Q&A to the panel of judges.

Students of HKU Business School have won numerous awards including four Champions, three 1st Runner-ups and three 2nd Runner-ups with the six sponsoring companies.

Find out more about the campaign: https://www.chamber.org.hk/bcc2021/

Award(s) and awardee(s):

Great Eagle Group – Champion and Citibank – 1st Runner Up (Team name: BELKK)

Miss Karine Pangestu, BBA(IBGM), Year 2

Miss Brianna Izellah Pajarillo Madera, BBA(IBGM), Year 2

Mr. Chan Ling Lam Levi, BBA(IBGM), Year 2

Miss Lai Hiu Chi Emily, BBA(IBGM), Year 2

(1 other team member was a student from The Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Financial Technology, HKU)

Citibank – Champion (Team name: Accelerator)

Mr. Lau Wang Shun, BEcon&Fin, Year 3

Mr. Cheng King On, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 5

PwC – Champion (Team name: Sicuro)

Mr. Asimudeen Sahabudeen, BBA(IS), graduate

Mr. Ningoo Siddhant Darpan, BBA(IS), graduate

NWS – Champion (Team name: Day Day Live)

Miss Wong On Yan, BBA, Year 4

 (1 other team member was a student from The Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, HKU)

Great Eagle Group – 1st Runner Up (Team name: BDG)

Miss You Haewon, BBA(IBGM), Year 4

Mr. Jung Jaewoon, BBA(IBGM), Year 3

Mr. Kim Yehun, BBA(IBGM), Year 2

 (2 other team members were students from The Bachelor of Social Sciences, HKU)

PwC – 1st Runner Up (Team name: Enertime)

Miss Wong Karen, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 3

(2 other team members were not HKU students)

Sino Group – 1st Runner Up (Team name: Greenery)

Miss Li Wing Sze, BBA, Year 4

(1 other team member was a student from The Bachelor of Arts, HKU)

Citibank – 2nd Runner-up (Team name: Flower Flag)

Mr. Tsang Chun Wai, BBA(Law)&LLB, Year 4

Miss Lau Ka Yiu, BBA(Law)&LLB, Year 4

(2 other team members were not HKU students)

DHL – 2nd Runner-up (Team name: MODE)

Miss Kim Siyeon, BEcon&Fin, Year 2

Mr. Jung Hyunwoo, BEcon&Fin, Year 2

Mr. Kim Minkyu, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 2

Miss Lee Yuhyeon, BBA, Year 2

Miss Kim Sumin, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 2

NWS – 2nd Runner-up (Team name: Alchemy)

Miss Leung Sin Yan Kiki, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 4

(1 other team member was not HKU student)

Students Sharing:

Great Eagle Group – Champion and Citibank – 1st Runner Up

“Citibank route:

What Citibank wanted was a way to encourage and support HK SMEs under the ESG scope aside from direct financing and investments. For some members of our team, this was our first-ever case competition so there was definitely a steep learning curve in presentation and content skills. Fortunately, with the help of some benevolent seniors and Citibank mentors, our all-in-one platform proposal was able to make it all the way to second place! Along the way, we learnt technical skills such as financial modelling and software development logistics as well as presentation skills like slide design and speech coherency. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed this seven-month journey with very invaluable teammates and would highly recommend this to anyone with a passion for innovative thinking. 

Great Eagle Group route:

We are very honoured to win the championship in the great eagle stream. Thanks to our mentor Agnes, we could better understand the back-end operations and business model of a hotel group. By talking to the management and staff from Eaton, we also identified their major challenges. Therefore, we proposed a digitalisation solution for Eaton to cement its position as an art and wellness hub. It was an amazing journey for our team.”

 (by Miss Karine Pangestu, Miss Brianna Izellah Pajarillo Madera, Mr. Chan Ling Lam Levi,  and Miss Lai Hiu Chi Emily)

Citibank – Champion 

“It was an unforgettable and exhilarating experience! Unlike large corporates with rich financial resources and manpower, SMEs usually face various challenges including a shortage of experts which has deterred them from demonstrating their ESG commitments. To tailor-make the solution specifically for SMEs, we researched the characteristics of SMEs and the difficulties of integrating ESG into their business to design a unique solution that would create a win-win situation for both Citi and SMEs. We were grateful that the mentors from Citi provided guidance to our team which enabled us to gain direct insights to prepare a more comprehensive solution.”

(by Mr. Cheng King On)

“It has been an enjoyable, rewarding and invaluable journey joining this competition! I have gained a deeper understanding of how ESG is playing a significant role in the banking and finance industry. Our well-rounded and all-in-one solution allows SMEs to enhance their ESG performance strategically and sustainably, and address their needs. Particularly, I gained insights into how implementing ESG initiatives in SMEs business will mutually benefit both SMEs and Citi Bank in terms of the revenue-generating ecosystem and long-term development. Lastly, thank you to my teammates and all the people who have guided and advised us along the way!”

(by Mr. Lau Wang Shun)

PwC – Champion

“The competition had multiple tracks, and my teammate and I applied for the PwC track where we had to come up with a business idea that would disrupt current businesses, using emerging technologies (such as Blockchain, AI, APIs and Data Analytics). Throughout the competition, we spent countless hours trying to refine our slide pitch deck, which provided the readers with in-depth information about our idea. The first-round selection was done by the sponsors (i.e. PwC). In the second round, which was shortlisted to the top 5 teams from the previous round had the opportunity to refine our proposal after receiving mentoring and further suggestions from the sponsors. Only the top 3 teams were picked to deliver a 5-minute presentation in the finals (followed by a 5-minute Q&A). This whole experience of joining this competition was a great learning opportunity and at the same time proved that innovation is just around the corner. From the support and invaluable insight that was provided to us by industry leaders, to the conversations we got to engage in with them. This was a great learning opportunity to polish many of my skillsets, to learn more about this industry, to look at the applications of Emerging Technologies in various areas, and most of all to apply my knowledge and make something concrete that has the potential to give back to the society.”

(by Mr. Asimudeen Sahabudeen, Mr. Ningoo Siddhant Darpan)

NWS – Champion

“In the competition, we were asked to discover problems under the new normal and think of an innovative solution that utilises NWS business expertise. During the problem discovery stage, though we had a hard time, we managed to realise problems in our daily lives and polished our observation and design thinking skills. At the solution development stage, as we would like to suggest a solution for carbon neutrality, we did lots of first and second-hand research on carbon trading. This enhanced our knowledge of sustainability as well as the global carbon trading market.”

(by Miss Wong On Yan)

Great Eagle Group – 1st Runner Up

“Throughout the competition, we learnt about the overall hospitality industry in Hong Kong by investigating various aspects such as social trends, external threats, consumers’ demands and preferences, and potential opportunities in the industry. Considering these factors, we came up with a new business idea for expanding the revenue stream in the New Normal in 2025 (Post-COVID-19 society). It was highly challenging to develop a new strategy as the New Normal was constructed in a hypothesized condition. However, after intensive research and gathering ideas from teammates, we finally came up with a new business idea of introducing “Senior Living Community Service,” which was a strategy to reduce vulnerability to future crises in the hospitality industry. We were able to analyze potential opportunities and strategies to mitigate possible threats. In addition, we have compiled data for a return-on-investment (ROI) analysis model by calculating expected revenue and costs in the hypothesized circumstances. Not only did we develop a new business idea, but also we analyzed and evaluated the profitability and feasibility of the new strategy with practical applications and figures. It was a great opportunity for us to learn about the new field of industry and to strengthen our research skills with passionate teammates and mentors who helped us throughout the competition, giving advice and critical feedback to consistently improve our new business idea.”

(by Miss You Haewon, Mr. Jung Jaewoon, and Mr. Kim Yehun)

PwC – 1st Runner Up

“The competition was engaging and educational. It offered a few rounds of consultation sessions and networking opportunities, allowing me to gain insights into the tech consulting industry from their expertise. As opposed to just presenting, our authentic demo showing how we were playing the game that our team had created was one of the highlights. (The device we were holding could detect our gestures, and we moved our bodies following the game’s rules)”

(by Miss Wong Karen)

Sino Group – 1st Runner Up

“It was a tough, yet rewarding journey. I am glad that our team overcame all the obstacles in this challenging situation and learnt so much from one another. This competition provided me with a deep dive into the topic of sustainability, and how we could act sustainably at individual and community levels. More importantly, the constructive feedback and thoughtful questions we received from our mentor and the judges helped improve our analytical skills and gave us valuable insights on strategies for successful project execution.”

(by Miss Li Wing Sze)

Citibank – 2nd Runner-up

“This Competition is one of the largest and most prestigious case competitions in Hong Kong. The 2021 Competition consists of 6 tracks on various areas of business. We joined the Citibank track. The title of the case is “Enhancing ESG Performance for Small and Medium Enterprises”. Although ESG has been a hot phrase for larger corporations, SMEs lag behind in awareness and implementation of ESG. Citibank can leverage its expertise to assist SMEs in achieving better ESG performance by addressing their major pain points—lack of knowledge and resources.”

(by Mr. Tsang Chun Wai, and Miss Lau Ka Yiu)

DHL – 2nd Runner-up

“This competition was the first case competition our team worked together. At the beginning of the competition, we had discussions almost every day to come up with innovative solutions which DHL has not yet tried. This period was challenging, yet we were certain that it eventually helped us win the prize while becoming more communicative and collaborative with one another.

Besides teamwork skills, we gained more business knowledge such as how businesses in the logistics industry operate their supply chain and respond to society regarding rising awareness of ESG. Moreover, we developed our creativity, critical thinking skills, and research skills while working on the proposal for the case study. This precious opportunity helped us grow a lot and gave us the courage to challenge more competitions in the future. One of the most meaningful lessons we learnt through the competition was a frontier ship with no fear. Thus, we recommend everyone not to be afraid of trying something new.

Due to the pandemic, the whole process of preparing for and presenting this competition was challenging for our team. However, by encouraging one another during this six-month-long journey, we achieved such a great achievement. We were glad to participate in the final round as an HKU representative student, and regardless of the result, the process itself gave us meaningful insights and skills.”

(by Miss Kim Siyeon, Mr. Jung Hyunwoo, Mr. Kim Minkyu, Miss Lee Yuhyeon, and Miss Kim Sumin)

NWS – 2nd Runner-up

“It was a really rewarding experience and I am so honored to have such an opportunity to provide strategies and formulate concrete solutions for the local conglomerate giant – NWS. In the competition, we are required to create deliverables to convince the company’s representatives with our proposed strategies. In the meantime, mentors from the sponsor would also provide us with feedback and tips. Overall, the entire journey was so amazing that I highly encourage students who are eager to challenge themselves to sign up for this competition.”

 (by Miss Leung Sin Yan Kiki)