Students from Airlangga University earned international recognition after their climate-resilient nutrition startup, SPYRAGO, won a Top 4 Sustainability award and secured USD 800 in business funding at the Bangkok Business Challenge 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand (03/06).

The competition is one of Asia’s most prestigious student startup events and attracted hundreds of teams from various countries.

SPYRAGO received the award after presenting its innovation during the Sustainability Round of the competition.

SPYRAGO Reaches Top 20 Among 385 Startup Proposals

Before winning the sustainability award, SPYRAGO advanced to the Top 20 among 385 submitted proposals.

The achievement demonstrated that the innovation developed by the Airlangga University students was able to compete with leading universities from around the world and gain recognition at the international level.

“We are very grateful to be able to qualify and compete with top global universities such as Stanford University and Johns Hopkins University. When we reached the Top 20 from 385 submissions, we felt this achievement became an initial validation that our idea has global relevance,” said Zahra, a team representative.

Climate-Resilient Nutrition Innovation Focuses on Sustainability

SPYRAGO is a startup operating in the climate-resilient nutrition sector. The team develops health products and digital services that emphasize sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

The innovation was created in response to public health challenges that are increasingly affected by climate change, food security issues, and environmental conditions.

Through its Future Food concept, SPYRAGO seeks to provide health solutions that can adapt to future challenges.

The startup also incorporates environmental and social impact considerations into its business model.

“The advantage of SPYRAGO lies in the combination of health impact, sustainability, and business feasibility. We do not only offer an idea with social impact. We have also achieved validation and traction across seven cities in Indonesia,” Zahra explained.

Multidisciplinary Team Strengthens Business Development

The SPYRAGO team consists of students from different academic disciplines. The members are Sandrina Indah Paraswati from the Nursing Professional Program 2026, Fatimah Nur Fadillah from the Master of Public Health 2024 program, David Mey Norton from Information Systems 2023, Griffan Qisthan Rafidyan from Accounting 2024, and Irvan Betrando Banjarnahor from Management 2024.

The team is guided by Dr. Habiburrochman as advisor. According to the team, their diverse academic backgrounds have become one of their main strengths in developing innovation and business strategies.

Global Competition Provides Valuable Learning Experience

During the competition, the team faced several challenges, including a demanding pitching schedule and the need to communicate complex ideas effectively in English.

They also had to demonstrate business readiness through data, business models, impact measurements, and implementation strategies before an international panel of judges.

“This experience has greatly broadened our perspective. We learned that global startups require not only creative ideas, but also clear market needs, strong business models, and accountable impact. Going forward, we want to continue developing SPYRAGO so it can provide broader benefits to society,” Zahra said.

PHOTO: UNIVERISTAS AIRLANGGA

This article was created with AI assistance.

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