Straw Wood Insulation Project won first prize in GVB Startup 2025 competition

The Straw Wood team is planning to call for investors to expand the project and produce products to bring to market.

The final round of the Global Vietnamese Business Startup Competition (GVB Startup 2025) has just ended successfully in London, UK. The project of straw insulation material to replace natural wood (Straw Wood) won the first prize of the competition.

Mr. Alessandro Antonioli - Director of Bloompac, a digital platform in green transformation - conference speaker. Photo: Organizing Committee

With the aim of promoting bold and ambitious startup ideas and projects, contributing to the future of global innovation, and supporting startups by providing resources, opportunities to exchange and share market information, in order to promote growth and success in the international market, GVB Startup 2025 has attracted the participation of nearly 150 individuals and organizations in Vietnam.

Conference speaker - Ms. Nguyen Tram Anh, co-founder of CFTE - a global educational platform in the field of digital finance. (Photo: BTC).

After passing a rigorous evaluation process, four teams from Vietnam, including UCTalent, Futuristic Microalgae, Straw Wood and the Handheld Computer for the Blind project, made it to the final round with bold and feasible startup projects, representing the spirit of innovation and creativity, in line with global goals on sustainability, technology and social impact.

Ms. Pham Ha My (2nd left) awarded first prize to Straw Wood team. (Photo: Organizing Committee)

At the end of a grueling competition, Team Straw Wood won first place with their straw insulation project, offering a green alternative to natural wood, with products made from straw and environmentally friendly glue. Fireproof, waterproof and formaldehyde-free, Straw Wood offers a sustainable solution for interior applications, construction and more.

This activity is within the framework of the Global Vietnam Business Festival 2025 event series with the theme "Green transformation and digital transformation" organized by HaMy Academy (UK) and KAmedia in collaboration with the National Center for Supporting Creative Startups (NSSC - Ministry of Science and Technology ).

Nguyen Xuan Thanh, a student from Tra Vinh University, representing the team that won the first prize in the GVB Startup 2025 competition, said: “This is truly a strategic project in Vietnam. The goal of the project is to produce artificial wood from straw, a very available raw material in Vietnam, but often has to be burned after the rice harvest. Artificial wood products from straw have the advantage of being more durable, more flexible and malleable, while this type of product also has the advantage of limiting mold and being able to withstand higher outdoor temperatures than other types of artificial wood.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh also said that the Straw Wood team is planning to call for investors to expand the project and produce products to bring to market.

Representatives of investment funds Energy Mix Ventures, BackFuture Ventures, ex-HSBC ventures. (Photo: BTC)

Also at the competition, the Organizing Committee awarded the second prize to the Futuristic Microalgae team, with a project using microalgae to treat wastewater from seafood processing plants, helping to protect the environment while creating economic value through biofuels, fertilizers and animal feed. The third prize went to the UCTalent team, with a reward-based on-chain talent referral platform and AI Career Agent, contributing to changing the way of recruiting in the Web3 space, helping talents develop safely and effectively in a decentralized world.

Third prize went to UC Talent team. (Photo: VNA)

Meanwhile, the Encouragement Prize was awarded to the team with a project of a handheld computer applying computer vision and artificial intelligence to help visually impaired children learn characters and math in Braille, and help adults use the keyboard to operate the computer.

Within the framework of the GVB Startup 2025 event, the Organizing Committee also honored individuals with business achievements, becoming an inspiration for the entrepreneurial spirit of Vietnamese people in the UK and organizations that have made positive contributions to the development of the Vietnamese community in the UK as well as to the competition.

Attending the event were representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, the Vietnamese Association in the UK, the Vietnam - UK Friendship Network, the Vietnamese Association in the Czech Republic, Sunrise Technology Group and the Vietnamese Association in the UK, and British business and science and technology organizations.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/du-an-vat-lieu-cach-nhet-tu-rom-straw-wood-giai-nhat-cuoc-thi-gvb-startup-2025-318310.html