A better world starts with bold ideas, Hack4Purpose is your first step
A better world starts with bold ideas, Hack4Purpose is your first step
Hack4Purpose © 2025. All rights reserved.
Nearly half the world relies on agriculture for livelihood, yet the sector is under stress—from soil degradation and resource waste to lack of technology. With over 40% of global soil already damaged, food security is a growing concern. Innovations like affordable tools, emission control, and regenerative practices could unlock trillions in sustainable value.
MSMEs are building sourcing platforms, low-carbon farming tools, and solutions for post-harvest loss. But limited support, inefficiencies, and tech access forced 35,000+ MSMEs to shut down in 2025. We’ve gathered direct problem statements from these MSMEs.
Now it’s your turn to develop solutions that feed both people and the planet.
This sector moves the world – and pollutes it. The auto industry emits 25% of global greenhouse gases and consumes over 110 million tons of raw materials each year. Despite its scale, sustainable innovation is lagging, with green patent filings dropping 24% in 2024.
MSMEs, which make up a quarter of India’s auto component exports, are struggling to stay ahead. Limited access to R&D, poor policy support, and market risks have led to 35,000+ closures. We’ve gathered their pain points.
Your ideas – scrap recycling, better battery tech, lightweight materials – can reshape the future of mobility.
We generate 55 million tons of e-waste every year – and only 20% is recycled. The electronics industry is fast-moving, yet heavily dependent on imports and short-life products. There’s room to do better – and cleaner.
MSMEs are developing biodegradable PCBs, lead-free soldering, and circular solutions – but high energy use, fragile supply chains, and poor recovery systems forced over 35,000 out of business in 2025. These are the challenges that need your ideas.
Build smarter, repairable, recyclable tech – because the future is electric, and it needs to be sustainable too.
Energy shapes our future, yet 80% of it still comes from fossil fuels. The sector is the single largest emitter – responsible for 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But the transition to renewables is still highly overdue.
MSMEs are driving local solar, bioenergy, and small-scale clean energy, but they’re hitting roadblocks – funding gaps, unstable policies, and market volatility. In 2025, over 35,000 shut down. Their problems are now problem statements. From storage to smart grids to green hydrogen, the field is wide open.
It’s your turn to lead the energy transition.
A third of all food produced is wasted. Households are the biggest culprits, followed by retailers and producers. Meanwhile, the food industry consumes 30% of the world’s energy. As climate risks grow, we need new solutions – energy-efficient tools, home composting, alt-proteins, biomass fermentation.
MSMEs are optimizing supply chains and cutting waste. But they’re facing low consumer awareness, pricing challenges, and outdated systems – causing 35,000+ closures in 2025. Their calls for help are now challenges for you to solve.
Feeding the future starts with fixing the system today.
We only reuse 11% of treated wastewater. Most untreated effluent flows directly into rivers and oceans polluting ecosystems and harming biodiversity. By 2030 the goal is zero discharge, maximum recovery, and affordable treatment.
With this goal in mind, MSMEs manufacture membrane bioreactors and decentralized sewage systems. But various inevitable factors like high costs, scalability issues forced 35,000+ MSMEs to shut down in 2025. The industry needs solutions that treat wastewater like the resource it is. This is your call to build systems that make a difference.
Behind every leather product lies an unsustainable process – chemical-heavy tanning, toxic waste, and 1 billion animals slaughtered annually. Most leather isn’t biodegradable, and its production often pollutes groundwater and contributes to CO₂ emissions.
Some MSMEs are adopting cleaner practices – enzyme-based hair removal, salt-free tanning, and waste recycling – but lack of awareness, scale, and affordability pushed over 35,000 out of business in 2025. Their real problems are waiting to be solved.
If you care about sustainability, this is your chance to act beyond the surface.
Shrimp and algae play complementary roles in aquaculture, offering both nutritional and environmental benefits. Algae farming is a $15.1 billion industry, but relies on traditional methods using millions of gallons of water and destroying our natural resources. Today, 9 million tons of shrimp are farmed annually, wiping out 40% of mangroves and emitting 13.5 CO₂e per kilogram in the process. The shift to sustainability is still far.
MSMEs are manufacturing integrated mangrove-shrimp systems, closed loop ponds, wastewater reuse, and digital tools. Yet adoptions, market fluctuations, and other inevitable factors forced 35,000+ MSMEs to shut down in 2025. It’s time to build sustainable solutions before the natural resources disappear.
It’s time to bring in smarter, sustainable systems that feed communities without draining the planet.
Heavy machinery powers progress – but it’s also one of the dirtiest industries. It contributes to 30% of global CO₂ and lags in innovation. India still imports 30% of its machines due to gaps in design, materials, and processes.
MSMEs are trying to green their practices – from efficient parts to clean manufacturing – but lack of infrastructure, R&D, and government backing caused 35,000+ shutdowns in 2025. We’ve gathered these on-the-ground realities.
Now, it’s your move to design machines that build the future without breaking the planet.
95% of global trade happens via seaways – but it comes at a cost. From oil spills to plastic waste, the marine ecosystem is overwhelmed. These problems endanger not only 20 million workers and 1.8 million travelers but also 60% of the world’s coral reefs.
Solutions exist – cleaner fuel, sustainable fishing tech, better port waste management, but growth is slow. MSMEs are trying, but without visibility, capital, or regulation, over 35,000 shut down in 2025 alone. We’ve sourced their challenges, and now, we need innovators like you to solve them.
If the oceans go, so does life as we know it.
Only 9% of global plastic is recycled. Yet, packaging remains one of the largest industries, dominated by polyethylene and other non-degradable materials. We need scalable, affordable solutions – from biodegradable wraps to organic alternatives and plastic-eating fungi.
MSMEs are already producing bioplastics and compostable solutions – but poor demand, expensive raw materials, and quality issues have pushed over 35,000 of them out of business. These MSMEs have shared their challenges with us.
If you’re ready to disrupt packaging for good, this is your moment.
400 million tons of plastic waste is created every year. Less than 10% gets recycled. Most are burned or dumped. Petrochemicals are the backbone of manufacturing – but they’re also one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize.
MSMEs are building bioplastics, converting plastic to fuel, and developing green chemicals. Still, high costs and slow R&D cycles forced 35,000+ of them to shut down in 2025. We’ve gathered the toughest challenges they faced.
Your solutions could be the breakthrough this industry and the planet needs.
The textile industry is fast-moving but far from sustainable. It generates 92 million tons of waste annually, uses toxic chemicals, and contributes 10% of global emissions. Less than 1% of textiles are recycled. We need innovations – durable fabrics, sustainable dyes, circular design, and better material recovery.
MSMEs are trying – producing organic cotton, natural dyes, and water-efficient textiles – but face barriers like tech gaps, supply chain fragmentation, and competition. Over 35,000 shut down in 2025. We’ve collected real-world issues from these businesses.
Solve them, and you might change the future of fashion.
Tourism holds the power to uplift local communities and preserve natural beauty – but unmanaged growth can do just the opposite. Overcrowding, waste, and seasonal over-dependence are straining both ecosystems and economies.
MSMEs have stepped up with solar lodging, eco-tours, and homegrown retail. But lacking regulation, high competition, and fragile margins pushed 35,000+ of them to shut down in 2025. Their challenges are now in your hands.
The next era of tourism must be cleaner, slower, and rooted in place – and you can help build it.
Transportation connects the world, but it’s also one of the biggest polluters – contributing 21% of CO₂ emissions and significant NO₂ pollution. Only 3% of fleets currently run on electric. The rest? Still dragging the planet backwards.
MSMEs are trying to build green logistics and last-mile solutions but face high costs, regulatory grey zones, and low EV infrastructure. In 2025, 35,000+ were forced to shut down. Their unfinished work is now yours to carry forward.
Rethink how we move. Reimagine what vehicles can do – for the environment and the economy.
Today, only 13.5% of global waste is recycled and 5.5% is composted. Over 40% ends up in dump yards getting burned releasing greenhouse gases, accelerating climate change, and threatening habitability.
MSMEs are building solutions in solid waste upcycling, e-waste recovery, and material processing. But high costs, technical gaps, and systemic inefficiencies forced 35,000+ MSMEs to shut down in 2025 slowing down the momentum for sustainable waste solutions. This is where you start to build solutions that actually cleans the planet.
