Fifth Annual Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition 2009 Results
The Global Business Center invited 14 teams from around the world to come to UW for GSEC Week, where they pitched their business ideas to judges and the UW community, competing for the $20,000 in prize money.
The 2009 GSEC team members came from 9 countries and 15 different academic institutions. Their double-bottom line business plans seek to create commercially sustainable solutions to issues of poverty in the developing world. The 2009 business ideas include water sanitation in Nepal, solar ovens in Africa, networks for NGO donors, microfinance in Ghana, healthcare and biofuel programs in India, education in Rwanda, and pedal-powered phones in Nicaragua.
Since GSEC began over 300 students from more than 25 countries have participated in the program. GSEC fosters interdisciplinary collaboration-across fields of study and among academic institutions. Student team members from the UW alone have come from the schools of business, engineering, health sciences, international studies, law, and public administration.
Introduction with Bruce Ramsey, Editorial writer, Seattle Times
Interview with Tim Dubel, Senior Manager of Community Affairs, Microsoft
Congratulations to 2009 GSEC Award Winners:
GSEC Microsoft Grand Prize- $10,000
Aahar: Meal for poor at 10 cents
Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies University, Mumbai, India
Mission: Provide full nutritious meals to slum dwellers at 10 cents in a ready to eat packet consisting of rice, pulses, and vegetable peels. Each of these packets will serve 800 calories. In addition, Aahar will be empowering women within the area y hiring them to compile these packets while paying them a higher wage and providing free packets for their family.
Team Members:
Rahul Kumar Agarwal
Sidharth BEDI
Ankit Jain
Sreejith N G
GSEC Department of Global Health Grand Prize- $5,000
Solar Oven Systems- Brown University, Providence RI
Mission: Respond to the need for alternative cooking technologies in Africa by manufacturing and distributing, at cost, simple and sustainable solar ovens made from locally available waste materials. A variety of solar ovens are already in use in a patchwork of locations across Africa. However, these ovens are too expensive and their distribution too localized to address the massive scope of the energy problem in rural Africa. These ovens contain two principal innovations, one structural and one material, that will allow Solar Oven Systems to provide a sustainable and scalable solution to this challenge.
Team Members:
Drew Durbin
Cory Goerdt
John Duffy Tilman
GSEC Department of Global Health Second Prize- $2,500
GSEC Peg and Rick Young Foundation Investor's Choice Award - $2,500
Mission: According to WHO, more than 30% of pharmaceuticals sold in the developing world are counterfeit or fake. mPedigree proposes a global platform to stop this deadly catastrophe with a focus on Africa and the Indian sub-continent using stakeholder networking and appropriate technology. The mPedigree platform is financially self-sustaining and commercially viable through fees charged per successful authentication, advertising and customer service revenues. WapGrid will extend the platform across West Africa.
Team Members:
Kofi Boateng
Bright B. Simons
Congratulations to 2009 GSEC Award Finalists:
MiNGO
University of Washington
Mission: Building donor networks of ex-international volunteers to financially support their host NGO's in Latin America. This will diversify and strengthen the NGO's current revenue streams. MiNGO's vision is that effective NGOs in developing countries have the financial resources to meet the challenges they face. MiNGO creates the infrastructure, methods, and timeframes for NGOs to track, cultivate and financially-leverage their ex-volunteers.
Team Members:
Mike Foote
Mari Hickman
Patrick Tsoa
Youth Education Farms for Swaziland
University of British Columbia, BC, Canada; Face of Today Foundation, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Mission: Develop farm land in already operating farms near schools in rural areas. Local students will then work alongside full time farm employees part time throughout their elementary to high school tenure. Profits from the sales of farm produce will be used to fund the student's tuition fees for either University tuition or local business initiatives created by the students. Their vision is to provide an environment for the sustainable development of idle orphans and communities in rural Swaziland through farming, while funding their future education and endeavors.
Team Members:
David Mandell
Ada Chueng
Joanne Chui
Richard Mari
Riley Mari
GSEC /UW Foster School of Business
2009 marks the 5th anniversary of GSEC. Since it began over 300 students from 26 countries have participated in the program. This year we received applications from 16 countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Singapore, the Netherlands, Uganda, United Kingdom and Vietnam.
