Oxford Saïd MBAs Shine in Social Enterprise Competitions this Summer
MBAs at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School have broken new ground in social enterprise during recent competitions at the school.
Saïd proudly announced several of these winners in a July 12, 2016 release.
ConnectMed, a healthcare technology startup, received a handsome award of $17,000 in seed funding. MBA student Melissa McCoy and her co-founder, Oxford PhD Vuyane Mhlomi, earned the funding through participation in a competition hosted by international energy company Total.
ConnectMed aims to offer accessible, affordable medical consultations to people in rural communities in Africa. McCoy and Mhlomi formed a team of doctors, developers, and financial experts to create their award winning pitch. “The prize money will allow us to launch our clinics and patient-facing offerings this summer in South Africa and shows the needed proof-of-concept to raise a seed round later this year.” McCoy noted of the prize.
MBA Talisa Dubois earned the place of finalist in this year’s 5050 Tech Challenge, which advocates improvements in gender equality in the tech professions. Dubois was awarded the chance to participate in valuable mentoring sessions, and also to pitch her startup, Yardstic. Yardstic offers an online tool for impact measurement and connection for those engaged in social initiatives in the business world.
Oxford MBAs also won big in the Nespresso MBA Challenge, held in June 2016. Co-sponsors of this event are the Sustainable Markets Intelligence Center and INCAE, the leading business school in Latin America. The challenge of the Oxford Saïd team was to form a strategic vision that would not only increase shareholder opportunity, but that would also benefit communities. MBA participant Safia Tapal remarked, “[We wanted to make Nespresso] more sustainable while working within realistic constraints. [Our team learned] the importance of communication and customer integration in ensuring that ‘sustainability’ is not just a marketing exercise.”
About the Author
Maggie Boccella
Maggie Boccella, a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, is a freelance writer, artist and photographer. She has consulted on various film and multimedia projects, and she also serves as a juror for the city's annual LGBTQIA Film Festival.
