Newswise — Building sustainably engineered houses in Bangladesh. Fighting malnutrition in Burkina Faso with local collection and distribution of high-protein caterpillars—a staple of the local diet. Lowering diabetes among pregnant women in Mexico through monitoring tools, text messaging, and peer-to-peer education.
Those are a sampling of homegrown ideas from some of the world’s brightest and most passionate business students competing in the final round of the 2012 Global Social Venture Competition, to be held at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, April 20, 8 a.m.to 9 p.m. Finalist presentations will be held from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Keynote Speakers:Conference: Rupert Scofield, CEO of FINCA International, social entrepreneurship authorAwards Dinner: Ira Magaziner, former Clinton administration adviser and CEO of the Clinton Health Access Initiative
The competition, which was started by Berkeley MBA students in 1999, attracted more than 600 entries from a record 50 countries, including Kenya, South Africa, Turkey, and partners in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Entries this year proposed sustainable social ventures to combat hunger, environmental degradation, disease, and resource scarcity.
Two Berkeley-Haas teams are among the 15 finalists competing for the top $50,000 prize. • Watsi is a global funding platform that connects donors with people in need of medical care and enables them to fund low-cost, high-impact treatments. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyHZ3vaAdd0 • 2Vidas is a pharmacy-based membership program for low- to middle-income pregnant women to slow the growing diabetes epidemic in Mexico. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-hDUB5w2lc
“The GSVC experience, mentorship, feedback, and support has been a catalytic process to really propel our concept to the next level,” says Emily Ewell, Berkeley-Haas MBA/MPH ’12 and 2Vidas team member.
Teams will be judged using “social impact measurement” such as financial sustainability, likelihood of implementation, and social impact, and will win exposure and mentorship opportunities in addition to cash awards.
Nearly one-quarter of past entrants have become viable businesses, including Revolution Foods, World of Good, Kiva, and IndieGogo.
For more information: www.gsvc.org
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