Alberto Rosa/Writing

The Explorer URJC young entrepreneurship program has concluded its XV edition with 19 new projects promoted through the Móstoles Business Incubator, the Rey Juan Carlos University, the Móstoles City Council and Santander Universities. The 'Back2u' project has been the winner of this edition, focused on giving a second chance to garments that are not used.

The second prize went to Seguros CAT and the third to Fash(Revolut)ion, while the diploma for women entrepreneurs went to Silvida Di Bonaventura for her PEPA project. All the winners are students or graduates of the URJC.

Female entrepreneurship, protagonist in this edition

Pablo Ramírez, director of the Móstoles Business Incubator and head of the Explorer URJC program, says that this edition has stood out for the wide variety of ideas proposed by university students. “I have been very surprised by the ability that some projects have had to evolve rapidly, all the ideas grew exponentially,” he says.

In addition, Ramírez highlights that this edition has been marked by a greater female presence: "This year there have been more women entrepreneurs than men and that is very good news." In another aspect, the director of the Móstoles Business Incubator values ​​“companionship, cooperation and collaboration between all the projects as a seed for future collaborations”.

Sustainable commitment as a driver of entrepreneurship

The three promoters of the winning project, 'Back2U', Jesús Franco, Raquel Ruiz and Chanchal Ramchandani, will travel to Portugal, specifically to the European Innovation Academy in Porto, where they will participate in a program on innovation together with hundreds of entrepreneurs from different countries.

His project has focused on the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda to give a second chance to garments that are not used through the recycling model. The promoter of it defends that sustainability starts from you and returns to you. In other words, the user is part of the design process to transform his garment that he will be able to use again as a new one. In addition, the sale will be through the online channel.

The second prize went to the CAT Insurance project, promoted by Laura Siguero. Her proposal consists of creating insurance that protects against natural catastrophes. It would be divided into two parts: the first, a study of the different types of natural disasters by geographic area and the increase in their severity and frequency due to climate change, thus delimiting the target audience. In the second part, the creation of the insurance itself would be developed, including the calculation bases to ensure that both the service offered and the income that can be generated are viable, profitable and sustainable.

The third prize, Fash(Revolut)ion, whose promoter is María José Chacón Pérez, proposes a new business approach to the sale of second-hand clothing; implementing a new marketing strategy and remodeling the type of business based on empowerment and the use of social networks as an aid.

Silvia Di Bonaventura's PEPA project consists of a health voice assistant that allows evaluating and monitoring the cognitive and physical state of the elderly from their own home.

The Explorer Route has lasted 12 weeks and has been held online with some face-to-face sessions. The program has enabled the participants to materialize their idea with the support of the URJC entrepreneurship area and the technicians of the Móstoles Development Business Incubator.