Hult Prize 2013 finalist ESADE B-school focuses on Indian slums

The 2013 Hult prize competition has declared their Regional Finalists. MBA students from ESADE Business School , McGill University, Hult International Business School, University of Cape Town, and Asian Institute of Management have made it to the final round.

The Hult Prize is a start-up accelerator for social entrepreneurship, which brings together the brightest college and university students from around the globe to solve the most crucial issues faced by the world. This year’s competition theme is “Global food crisis” focusing on food security and “how to get safe, sufficient, affordable and easily accessible food to the 200 million people who live in urban slums.”

Winners of the Hult Prize are asked to develop solutions to one of the world’s most pressing social issues. Over the past three years, it has taken on some of the planet's toughest challenges like Education, Energy, Housing, and Water. The topic is announced each year by President Clinton at the annual Clinton Global Initiative Meeting in New York. In a bid to solve the issue, a business case covering detailed background information on the social issue will be released to all selected teams prior to the competition itself along with a specific challenge that students will be asked to solve.

This year’s Dubai region champion – ESADE Business School – will develop their own business model to launch the ‘Origin Network’. The network’s mission is to address food insecurity issues in Indian slums. The model will be established in three phases. The students recently visited Mumbai to conduct field research in slums.

The Hult Prize has recently been named one of the top five ideas changing the world by President Bill Clinton and TIME Magazine. The finalists will travel to New York City in September to present their final pitch to world leaders including President Bill Clinton. The winner will walk away with $1 million USD in seed capital to launch their social enterprise.