On Wednesday, November 18, more than 60 people on 16 teams will pitch social enterprise concepts to a panel of judges at Duke University.
The winner will advance to the next round of the Hult Prize Challenge, a global competition to drive social innovation by investing $1 million in the best business concept pitched by teams of college students each year.
The Hult Prize Challenge is sponsored by the Clinton Global Initiative and the topic is selected each year by President Bill Clinton.
“This year’s Hult Prize topic asks us how we can build sustainable, scalable and fast-growing social enterprises that double the income of 10 million people residing in crowded urban spaces by better connecting people, goods, services, and capital,” said Kayla Falk, campus director for the Hult Prize at Duke University.
The event is open to the public, said Falk, and anyone interested in social innovation is welcome to attend. The event will be held at the Duke University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Hub, “The Bullpen,” at 215 Morris Street in downtown Durham. The event will take place between 6 pm and 8pm on Wednesday, November 18.
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities, and within the next 15 years, projections show that more than 96% of all urbanization will take place in the developing world. The world’s population living in urban slums will double in the next 15 years from 1.2 billion people to more than 2.5 billion people.
“Urbanization is continuing to drive people all over the world into crowded spaces that lack infrastructure and basic services,” said Falk, “this competition is challenging us to design social enterprises that improve connectivity and double the income of the urban poor who live in megacities and slums.”
No pre-registration to attend the event is required. Interested individuals can find more information online.
