The University of Cambridge - Judge Business School. 2011 Global Champion of the 2nd Annual Hult Global Case Challenge
President Bill Clinton announced Cambridge University as the global winner of the 2nd Annual Hult Global Case Challenge, which focused on identifying solutions to the global water crisis. The Cambridge team was selected by a panel of judges from an international competition of 150 teams from around the world.
Hult International Business School provided the global winner with a US$ 1 million prize, which will be made available to Water.org, an organization cofounded by Gary White and actor Matt Damon, along with the winning idea.
The team’s winning solution leveraged existing widespread mobile phone use in developing countries as a platform to implement a loyalty and incentive plan that would fund development and maintenance of clean water infrastructure in developing countries.
“The Cambridge team’s model is very compelling because it puts beneficiaries in control of their own water destiny. Simply by using the strength of their own purchasing power with mobile providers, more communities could get safe water solutions more quickly,” said Gary White, co-founder of Water.org
The Cambridge University’s solution builds on Water.org’s micro-lending WaterCredit, which has so far helped provide basic services to 315,000 people.
Watch the Cambridge team’s video on Facebook »
Both Hult International Business School and Water.org are members of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). In 2010, when Hult sought a nonprofit partner for the Global Case Challenge, CGI introduced it to Water.org. The Global Case Challenge is a CGI Commitment to Action.
For more information and a video of the award ceremony go to hultglobalcasechallenge.com
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Source: Hult International Business School, 29 Apr 2011 ; BusinessWire / Water.org, May 2011
