February 22, 2006
University students tackle poverty in socially responsible business plan challenge
Students representing universities in China, India, Japan and the United States will present their ideas to incorporate both financial and socially sustainable solutions for reducing poverty through new business development, in the University of Washington’s Business School’s second annual Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition.
Set to begin next week, the competition’s focus on social entrepreneurship requires that teams find creative and commercially sustainable ways to improve the quality of life in developing countries. Social entrepreneurship is loosely defined as an individual or group whose aim is to create new ways to solve social problems. This can involve setting up not-for-profit businesses, or businesses which make some profit but whose role is to develop the community in some way.
Organizers say Seattle philanthropic business leaders are increasingly looking to students for creative ideas that promote social enterprise. Teams will be judged on the following criteria: impact on quality of life in the developing world, implementation feasibility and financial sustainability.
Patrick Byrne, chief executive officer of Overstock.com who is known for his philanthropic work and attention to ending poverty in third world countries, will be this year’s keynote speaker.
“Social entrepreneurship, the central concept behind this competition, may be effective at alleviating global poverty,” Byrne said. “Worldstock, a department within Overstock.com, is modeled upon this concept. Worldstock enables thousands of impoverished craftspeople to sell their products online, establish long-term businesses and create a sustainable living for themselves and their families.”
Business plans submitted include solutions for how to recycle old computers in India; converting China’s domestic sewage into fertilizer; improving sanitation and providing safe drinking water in Pakistan; and supplying wind-generated electricity to Kenya’s poorest neighborhoods.
Teams of undergraduate and graduate students will participate in the competition, which runs from Feb. 27 through March 3. The 10 teams competing are: Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Shanghai, China); Kobe University (Kobe, Japan); Bharathidasan Institute of Management (Tamil Nadu, India); S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (Mumbai, India); KAIST Graduate School of Management, (Seoul, South Korea); Baylor University (Houston, Texas) and four from the University of Washington.
Debra Glassman, senior lecturer in business economics and assistant faculty director of the UW’s Global Business Center, said as Seattle becomes better known internationally for its proliferation of philanthropic organizations, future business leaders are playing an increasingly vital role in the development of emerging markets.
“The motivation for GSEC is to contribute to the alleviation of global poverty,” said Glassman. “We are doing that by educating young entrepreneurs, who have creative ideas about how to tackle the problems of poverty using business models. The problems of poverty are interdisciplinary ones, and one of the most interesting aspects of the competition is the interaction among team members from different disciplines.”
UW teams are required to include members from at least two different schools or colleges on campus. This year’s UW teams include students studying business, engineering, science, public affairs, international studies and environmental health.
Stephanie Renzi, a UW graduate student studying international Chinese studies, said her experiences working and studying in Beijing allowed her to witness China’s environmental degradation and experience its ill effects on public health. She and her teammates have proposed a plan to combat air pollution in Beijing through the design and installation of “green roofs,” or growing plants on roofs that help cut back on unhealthy levels of carbon dioxide.
“I am anxious to use GSEC as a creative forum to discuss Beijing’s air pollution and question whether or not modernization need always compromise the environment,” said Renzi. “My team and I agree that modernization and environmental conservation can work in harmony with one another. Our business proposal adapts basic technologies to Beijing’s distinct environmental situation in a way that simultaneously promotes economic development and improves environmental health.”
During the preliminary round on March 2, teams will have 10 minutes to present their ideas, followed by 15 minutes of cross-examination from the judges. The top four teams will have a chance to perfect their presentations, get a good night’s rest, and return to face the judges the following day.
The Global Business Center, the principal event organizer, will host the event, in partnership with the Business School’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and UW’s Marc Lindenberg Center for Humanitarian Action, International Development and Global Citizenship. Additional support is provided by the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs and the Initiative for Global Development, a Seattle-based alliance of business and civic leaders.
Participating teams have been awarded more than $20,000 in travel scholarships and will vie for a grand prize. Both the preliminary and final rounds of the competition are open to the public and they will take place: March 2 from 12:30 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. and March 3 from 1:45 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. in the Douglas Forum, located in the Bank of America Executive Education Center, on the UW campus.
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For more information, contact Glassman at (206) 543-8738 or dg2854@u.washington.edu or visit http://bschool.washington.edu/gsec/index.shtml
