At Sustainable Finance Live last week, a concurrent hackathon took place alongside the keynotes and panel sessions.
Finextra, Responsible Risk, and Nayaone provided spaces and mentorship to participants in the hackathon, allowing teams to brainstorm, develop concepts, and collaborate with attendees. Following the conference in London on November 29, 2022, these teams continued their work to refine their ideas.
Today, the final five teams presented their projects, featuring participants from Genpact, Soverio, Deloitte, and Endangered Wildlife OÜ. The winner of the inaugural Sustainable Finance Live hackathon was announced, with the team consisting of Priyank Patwa, formerly with Morningstar and M&G; Grace Colverd, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge; and Amogh Borkar, lead data scientist at M&G, who focused on democratizing geospatial data.
Upon winning, Patwa expressed, “We are passionate about creating something meaningful that moves the needle in a way that simplifies analysis. Our hope is that we can contribute positively to the planet and even save lives. That’s what drives us.”
Finextra engaged with some judges to gain insights into their roles at the hackathon and what they were looking for from participants. The judging panel included Darshna Shah, director of innovation at Elastacloud Digital; David Gristwood, Azure architect at Microsoft; and John Donovan, senior developer at SparkGeo.
When reflecting on the purpose of a hackathon in the sustainability arena, Gristwood noted the importance of giving participants the freedom to step away from their regular responsibilities: “It allows them to focus intensely on an idea without distractions. The goal is to encourage experimentation and fast failures, which ultimately leads to valuable learning without extensive wasted effort on larger projects.”
Donovan shared his experiences from previous hackathons, highlighting the collaboration between technical and non-technical participants. For instance, at an NHS Hackathon, he witnessed diverse teams working together to create innovative solutions for healthcare challenges.
Shah, who also participated in a sustainability panel at the main conference, shared her enthusiasm for the growth of Sustainable Finance Live events: “Bringing together individuals from varied backgrounds fosters the emergence of innovative ideas. It’s exciting to witness sustained momentum in sustainability and to see diverse talents from finance, tech, science, legal, and energy come together.”
The judges also elaborated on their expectations for the final presentations. Shah emphasized the significance of leveraging data through the NayaOne platform, encouraging participants to propose impactful ideas and consider their alignment across various industries. Gristwood likened the presentation process to “Dragons’ Den,” where teams passionate about their projects have the chance to research, test, and formulate plans, fostering creativity and innovation throughout the event.