Parents and students often face the hassle of buying stationery from different shops in many rural areas. Seeing this challenge, a group of students turned it into an opportunity. They came up with a business idea to collect these essential materials in a box called “BackPack Basics”. This innovative idea won the Gold Award in the Innovation Category at the International Creativity and Innovation Award (ICIA) 2025, held at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in April.
To honour their global recognition, His Royal Highness Prince Ugyen Jigme Wangchuck awarded certificates to the winning team in the capital yesterday.
The International Creativity and Innovation Award 2025 featured nearly 400 finalists from 26 countries. It is a competition fostering creativity, innovation and global collaboration among youth.
“Our idea of ‘Backpack Basics’ was developed by first looking at the major problem in Bhutan, and that is having more rural areas where students cannot get the right materials for schools,” said Kyle Yangsel Lotey, Student, Pelkhil School, Thimphu.
Another participant shared that the programme helped them come up with creative solutions.
“It helps us become more responsible, creative, and it also helps our critical and analytical thinking, which will help us in the future, especially when it comes to making decisions for ourselves,” said Yigha Kinley Wangzin, Student, Druk School, Thimphu.
The core idea of the business is to reduce inequality by making school supplies affordable and easily accessible for students in low-income and rural areas.
“Backpack basics is a stationary kid, it is not a high-tech innovation. But it is a value-based innovation. So, it is about the value of creating, collecting and bundling different stationery materials into a kit: all in one kit. It is affordable, and in the future, the profits they generate from these kinds of businesses can support other students in the rural communities,” said Kinley Tenzin, Director, Bhutan Youth Development Fund.
Hereafter, the team will focus on developing a simplified version of their full product that includes the core features necessary to test its value in real-world conditions.
The team plans to pilot the product in Druk School and Pelkhil High School. This will allow the team to validate their business model, gather critical user feedback and work on product design.
The team had earlier been selected as the best business idea winners from the KidsMBA Bhutan Programme, held in January.
Innovate Bhutan, under the Bhutan Youth Development Fund, organised the KidsMBA programme in collaboration with ABE Ltd., based in the United Kingdom, to promote entrepreneurial skills in students.
The programme aims to train at least 500 students by 2030, with the potential to train more if sponsorships are available for students. They are set to coach the next cohort in July.
Devika Pradhan
Edited by Sonam Pem
