Last weekend, two groups of USC students competed in the Hult Prize Competition to help fight world hunger. One group went to San Francisco and the other went to Shanghai for the competition. Both USC groups participated in the San Francisco and Shanghai finals. There were other regional finals held in Dubai, London, and Boston. The USC students were apart of 10,000 student applications from the USC Marshall School of Business and the USC Price School of Public Policy. The Hult Prize Competition, focused on urban slums, and how to feed the slums with effective food security, sustainability, and other criteria.
Former President Bill Clinton is a huge supporter of the competition, and he recently named the Hult Prize one of the top five ideas that was currently changing the world. He also selected the topic for this year’s competition: the global food crisis. The Hult Prize is meant to create a new set of social entrepreneurs in the younger generation. It does this by funding and launching start-up ideas that aim for social good. Along with Bill Clinton, the Hult Prize also partners with the Clinton Global Initiative.
The Hult Prize competition is funded by Bertil Hult, a Swedish millionaire who supports global initiatives and change. Those USC students competed in the Hult Prize Competition for the chance to be one of the top six teams, who get to pitch their business idea (in relation to global hunger) to Bill Clinton and other Clinton Global Initiative attendees. The final winner will receive a $1 million prize as start-up capital in order to launch their idea.
– Corina Balsamo
Sources: Hult Prize, USC News, Calgary Herald
Photo: Hult