The power of 6

In 2017, architects Shilpi Dua and Abhimanyu Singh were close to sealing a funding deal for their dream start-up in Europe. They were in their second Master's degree in Product Service System Design at the Polytechnic University of Milan, where Dua had taken to designing affordable homes using paper honeycomb panels as part of her thesis. Since the thesis was a hit, they decided to convert the idea into a business. They also found a European investor who was ready to fund their idea to found their start-up in Europe. But as non-Europeans, they found it difficult.

The couple returned to India and started looking for funding opportunities in their home country. The start-up ecosystem was thriving then. Soon, Singh and Dua got a grant from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, which led them to set up Hexpressions ('Hex' for hexagonal), in Jaipur, in 2018. The start-up specialises in building homes using a distinctive construction material – composite paper honeycomb panels where a recycled paper honeycomb is sandwiched between cement fibreboards. The paper honeycomb layer makes for a lighter – and yet high-strength – material. It is also soundproof and provides thermal insulation.