Meghalaya is one of the wettest places on earth. Yet, umbrella shortage is not among the main issues of the local population. Instead, this remote northeastern region of India faces numerous other challenges. Traffic jams are a frequent picture in the hilly and curvy streets of Shillong. Plastic bottles and other plastics swim like a colorful mosaic on the rivers. The absence of big employers and the predominantly skeptical attitude of the local population towards entrepreneurship leave youth often in a dire situation.

The accelerator PRIME hub and the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in Shillong intend to change that and empower youth on a big scale! – A very big scale! Shillong hosted the biggest Impact Week ever (so far)! Following a hybrid event in 2022, this event brought together people from 8 nationalities and was also a point of connection for the whole region! The impact spread across Meghalaya, training teachers and students from 23 different colleges and universities from all over the region. Beyond the participation of 182 student participants, this Impact Week was also special in another manner: it was the most inclusive Impact Week so far! Several people with disabilities joined us and formed part of the teams which significantly enriched the event.

The event culminated in 27 wonderful ideas for the betterment of the region. For instance, teams came up with an idea to develop special e-bikes to navigate more environmentally friendly through the hilly city of Shillong, and a special water filter to use the rainwater and solve the lack of drinking water in the region. The jury, which involved local start-up founders, people from the local GIZ offices, and PRIME representatives, couldn’t decide for only 3 ideas to win – each track got a winning team! We thank everyone involved – our volunteers, guest speakers, over 40 (!!) experts, jury members and our partner help alliance, who sent 2 project leaders from Bangalore and their German project coordinator to receive the training in Shillong.

Curious to see more footage of this Impact Week?

Our local partner PRIME Hub has created wonderful videos about the Impact Week Train-the-Coach and the Impact Week Challenge!