THREE Oxford University students will pitch at the United Nations headquarters for a $1 million prize on Saturday.
Trio Ronit Kanwar, 20, Gideon Laux, 23, and James Dickson, 37, made the final six of around 100,000 entries for the Hult Prize, a prestigious social enterprise competition asking students to solve global challenges.
The 2018 challenge, to ‘harness the power of energy to transform lives’ encouraged the group, through their company, Empower Energy, to ‘connect rural India to the modern economy’.
Mr Kanwar, CEO, said: “I am incredibly excited. All of the hard work and sleepless nights have built up to this occasion.”
The judging panel consists of numerous CEOs including Ariana Huffington, while Bill Clinton is set to present the winners’ award.
The company equip rural shopkeepers with Solar Charging Stations, allowing them to rent out lamps and battery packs – a safer, cleaner, cheaper and more reliable option than the likes of kerosene.
Its ‘ultimate vision’ is to set up a ‘last-mile distribution network’ to help 16 million individuals.
Gideon Laux added: "Winning would allow us to exponentially increase our social impact. Our model [allows us] to generate both impact and profitability, meaning that the prize will help us scale our solution quickly and effectively across undeserved communities."
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