Arizona student advances to national finals of the Mott Million Dollar Challenge in Flint, Michigan

A bold idea from a local student is among just 60 semifinalist submissions selected from over 3,700 nationwide to pitch at the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, June 15-16 in downtown Flint.

FLINT, Mich., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Amaira Srivastava from Gilbert, Arizona has been selected as a semifinalist in the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, a national pitch competition for K-12 students.

More than 5,300 young people from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. submitted over 3,700 business ideas and social solutions to the Challenge. From those entries, 1,500 submissions were selected in the first round. Now, the creators behind the top 60 ideas are advancing to compete at a live national event in Flint, Michigan next week.

Amaira Srivastava, a 9th-grade student at Arizona College Prep High School, developed the FlavoPeel Cup, a sustainable, affordable, and nutrient-rich alternative to plastic cups made from fruit peels and low-cost natural ingredients. Motivated by the growing problem of plastic pollution and food waste, Amaira collected discarded fruit peels from restaurants, local stores, friends, and family, then dehydrated and blended them with glycerin, corn starch, vinegar, and water to create a fully home-compostable cup. Through hands-on testing, Amaira validated the cup's biodegradability and water safety and used a spectrophotometer in the high school laboratory to demonstrate that the cup naturally releases flavonoids — antioxidant compounds with anti-inflammatory properties — through passive diffusion. By transforming food scraps into a functional product, Amaira's innovation tackles both plastic waste and fruit peel waste while promoting a more sustainable future.

"I believe that the next big idea might just be hiding in your trash can," said Amaira in the social pitch to the Mott Million Dollar Challenge

As a semifinalist, the project will be awarded $5,000. Amaira will pitch live in front of judges during the final competition June 15-16 in Flint.

Funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation as part of its centennial celebration, the Mott Million Dollar Challenge is administered by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in collaboration with VentureLab, Young Entrepreneur Institute (YEI), the Afterschool Alliance, Collaborative Communications and the 50 State Afterschool Network. The Challenge is designed to shine a light on entrepreneurship education as a meaningful way to help students build skills they need to navigate and shape the future.

Learn more about the Mott Million Dollar Challenge and explore semifinalist ideas at https://mottmillion.org/60-semifinalist-pitches/.

Contact:
Jen Peters
[email protected]

SOURCE Charles Stewart Mott Foundation