Business Wire IndiaAmway India, the country’s no.1 direct selling fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company and Kony Inc., the leading provider of digital application and low-code platform solutions jointly hosted the first-ever hackathon for the students of Vasavi College of Engineering, Hyderabad. With an aim to harness the creativity of students to promote digital innovations and provide hands-on application development experience, the three-days long hackathon started from July 19, 2018 and ended on July 21, 2018.
Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Anshu Budhraja, CEO Amway India, said, “Amway has progressed significantly towards a ‘Digital first’ approach globally as well as in India. With a clear focus on digital innovations, we have taken several initiatives to develop digital capabilities in the direction to benefit our customers and Amway direct sellers. We believe, Future is built from the future, Future is not built from the Past - and the new future would be amplified by the demographic dividend of around two thirds of India’s population under the age of 35 years. The burgeoning young workforce in India will soon be the largest and youngest the world has ever seen. Youth have always been a core focus area while formulating our strategy which is showcased through Amway’s brand engagement initiatives including digital marketing, experience stores, product portfolio and our new consumer connect. As a leader in the direct-selling industry, we have been at the helm of promoting entrepreneurship among young talent and we are delighted to be a part of a yet another first initiative - a hackathon in partnership with Kony. The hackathon will provide a platform and an opportunity to the young talent to develop digital business solutions using their creativity and innovation. We are looking forward to some great concepts and solutions that may prove to drive digital transformation in the industry.”
As part of the initiative, the students were introduced to the Amway technology ecosystem and given an overview of the direct selling industry. Participants were provided with free access and in-person training for Kony Visualizer, an award-winning visual design and development tool to build an app. Within this framework, 30 students were divided into six teams who competed over the course of three-days, to deliver innovative app prototypes.
Speaking on the development, Mr. Mike Gamaggio, Manager Owned Web and Native App Experiences, Amway Global Digital Services: “We are looking at new ways to create mobile native capabilities. Fast, focused, engaged and competitive while having fun. Students can work on real business needs and be rewarded for their creativity while Amway can explore new native perspectives, deploy some of the concepts obtained through the Hackathon to our mobile ecosystem and possibly open a path for new talent. Kony can get their powerful platform into the hands of young professionals and thus increase the number of well-versed developers on their platform. It’s a Win, Win, Win for everyone!”
“Kony hosts App Playground events where participants come together to design and create innovative new apps that drive business impact. Kony is proud to partner with Amway to host an App Playground that empowers the next generation of digital innovators,” said Cem Tanyel, executive vice president, Global Services, Kony, Inc. “This hackathon was a fun, competitive forum that fostered the creative process and enabled people to see their app ideas come to life. Using the Kony AppPlatform and active mentoring, we helped participants create an app in a short amount of time, even if they had no experience at all.”
Kony has been named a “Leader” among the top Digital Experience Development Platforms vendors in The Forrester Wave™: Digital Experience Development Platform, Q2 2018 report. Kony has also been recognized as a “Leader” in the IDC MarketScape: 2017 North American Mobile Banking and Payments report, with the highest rating for Mobile Banking capabilities. Kony is also a Callahan’s 2018 Innovation Series winner, and earned two top honors at the American Banker Digital Banking 2018 event: Runner Up for Best in Show and People’s Choice.
About Amway India
Amway India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amway with headquarters located in Ada, Michigan, USA. Amway is the world's #1 direct selling business in the world with presence in over 100 countries & territories. The coveted global 100 list benchmarks the performance of top revenue-generating direct selling companies in the world, has ranked Amway #1 for the 6th consecutive year in 2018.1
Globally, Amway is over 59 years old, a US $ 8.6 billion manufacturer and direct seller of quality consumer goods. Amway’s innovation and industry-leading R&D has seen more than 800 patents granted and another 240 patents pending. Amway has nearly 1000 scientists across 100 research and development and quality assurance laboratories worldwide.
Amway India sells more than 140 daily use products across categories like Nutrition, Beauty, Personal Care, Home Care and Consumer durables through Amway Direct Sellers who make personal recommendations regarding the use of distinctive quality products. Amway products are widely recognized and appreciated for their quality and value. These products are backed by a money back guarantee for 100% satisfaction of use2. With the aim of increasing consumer outreach Amway has set up more than 55 Xpress Pick & Pay stores across the country.
Amway products are popular not just in India but across the world. Nutrilite is the world's No. 1 selling vitamins and dietary supplements brand3.Nutrilite has established itself as a leading brand in the vitamins and dietary supplements category in India as well. Amway has signed Farhan Akhtar as the brand ambassador for the Nutrilite range in India to further promote the brand. Artistry is India’s No. 1 premium skin care brand4. Amway India also offers ‘Attitude’, an entry level premium skincare and cosmetics brand targeted at India youth. The product range has been developed keeping the needs of Indian consumers into consideration.
Amway India is aggressively entering newer categories. Most notably, the company launched a Weight management program called ‘W.O.W.’ (Will over Weight) which has been really appreciated by the consumers in India. Amway forayed into the consumer durables segment with the launch of a premium cookware range Amway Queen and the Energy Drink and Sports Nutrition segment (Whey Protein) with XS. Recently, Amway announced the launch of Nutrilite Traditional Herbs range developed specifically for the Indian consumers.
Amway’s manufacturing facility in India is located at Nilakottai in the Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu. This is Amway’s third manufacturing plant located outside of USA. The other plants are located in China and Vietnam. Amway India’s Plant in Dindigul district has achieved LEED ‘Gold’ certification by US Green Building Council (USGBC) which showcases our leadership in sustainability in the industry.
About Kony, Inc.
Kony is the fastest growing, cloud-based digital application and low-code platform solutions company, and a recognized industry leader among low code and mobile application development platform (MADP) providers. Kony helps organizations of all sizes accelerate digital success by rapidly transforming ideas into innovative and secure omnichannel applications. Built on the industry’s leading digital platform, Kony’s cross-platform, low-code solution empowers organizations to develop and manage their own apps to better engage with their customers, partners and employees.
For more information, please visit www.kony.com. Connect with Kony on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
1https://www.directsellingnews.com/dsn-announces-the-2018-global-100/
2As per Amway Refund Policy
3Source: http://www.euromonitor.com/amway-claimsSource Euromonitor International Limited; Vitamins and Dietary Supplements, World, GBN, Retail Value RSP, % breakdown, 2016 data
4Source Euromonitor International Limited; Beauty and Personal Care 2017 edition; as per premium skin care definitions; retail value sales; UBN; 2016 data
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