I had the privilege of participating as a judge in the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) March 2, 2010.
NASH equilibrium competitors and Alyssa Johnson discuss viability of their cassava saline product in Bangladesh.
As a judge for the Investor Award — one prize out of the $17,000 (US) that will be awarded — I was inspired by each competitor’s ingenuity and determination. It was no easy task dividing up my $1000 “Monopoly money” investment among the 11 semi-finalists.
Committed teams from/working in China, Canada, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malawi, Papua New Guinea, and Rwanda presented innovative social business plans seeking to alleviate a problem(s) of poverty in developing economies. Among the judging criteria, business plans were required to have a Double Bottom Line: they had to demonstrate the financial Return on Investment (ROI) and the Social Return on Investment (SROI).
Among some of the most promising contestants in my opinion, were NASH Equilibrium and ToucHb. NASH developed an inexpensive treatment for diarrhea and water borne diseases using cassava grown locally in Bangladesh. Not only does this address a major health crisis but the local farming of cassava and production of the oral re-hydration solution will create jobs.
TouchHB is a prick-less anemia scanner used by low-skilled village health workers in India that measures, helps diagnose, monitors and screens for anemia. I was impressed by the global outlook for this plan and the fact that the cost of production is significantly lower than its main competitor in Isreal.
The 2010 semi-finalist teams were selected from a pool of 161 applicants from 36 countries. Winners will be announced March 4.
The GSEC entered its fifth year strongly with a record 161 applications from student teams in 36 countries. That’s more than double last year and I hope this worthy program continues on the upward slope. I hope to hear about these companies making a a positive impact in poverty alleviation and profits for investors in the near future!
