The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania announced that the inaugural Wharton Business Plan Competition Social Impact Prize has been granted to Susli Lie WG’14, team leader of Dana Cita, a loan platform targeting Indonesian youth. The Wharton Business Plan Competition, which is managed by Wharton Entrepreneurship, initiated the $10,000 prize this year. This new prize is awarded to the Semifinalist team that most strongly demonstrates social impact in their business model
Dana Cita means “Aspiration Fund” in Indonesian, and this education lending venture aims to empower Indonesian youths by providing loans to aspiring students, as well as connecting them to future careers. “Millions of youths in Indonesia, where I am from, aspire to a better future,” says Ms. Lie. “Through Dana Cita, we hope to make a difference and enhance the social mobility of many young people by funding these aspirations one at a time. It is a small step, but for a rapidly growing country that is as populous as Indonesia, we are hopeful it will be an impactful step.”
Ms. Lie is a Jakarta native and the first in her extended family to receive a graduate degree. Before pursuing a joint MBA/MA degree from The Wharton School and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, she worked as a consultant and Asia-Pacific Chief of Staff at Oliver Wyman Financial Services. Dana Cita is co-managed by impact investor Tom Schmittzehe, Wharton MBA’03, who is a Research Director for Responsible Investing at the Sustainomics Group, an international consulting firm.
The Wharton Social Impact Prize is funded by the Wharton Social Impact Initiative. “The prize rewards and supports ventures that truly integrate social impact and business savvy,” says Professor Katherine Klein, Edward H Bowman Professor of Management and Vice-Dean of the Wharton Social Impact Initiative.
