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KIC Innoenergy SELECT MSc students place Second in the finals of the Hult Global Case Challenge Energy Track

A team of SELECT MSc students recently competed in the final of the world's largest crowdsourcing platform for social good: the Hult Global Case Challenge (HGCC). The final was held in New York City on April 26th. The five member team presented a business concept which would help to eliminate to use of kerosene based lighting and promote the adoption of solar lighting products. The team reached the final round after competing in London at one of the regional events in February. The team placed third in the regional event but were encouraged by judges to pursue their idea in the subsequent online competition. They then entered and won the online competition to earn a chance to compete in New York City. Thousands of students, representing over 130 countries and six continents, competed across five cities and online to reach the final, which was held at the New York City Public Library in the presence of former US President Bill Clinton and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus.

The team's solution involved establishing an inclusive business ecosystem for the solar lighting market. The ecosystem is comprised of 3 main players: the financial community, the solar lighting industry, and third party software developers. Each partner of the ecosystem brings essential capabilities required for eliminating the major barrier to scaling of the solar lighting market: access to finance. The team envisions empowering every individual African, especially those currently unbanked, to gain access to credit for the purchase of a solar lamp. The small loan which they receive will be paid off using the savings, which the customer has, due to no longer buying kerosene fuel. The team already has support from partners in each of the three areas of the ecosystem.

Team members include Eduardo Maria Appleyard (captain), 30, who studied Mechanical Engineering at McGill University in Montreal; Eric J. Bowler, 26, who studied Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana; Oisin Tummon, 24, who studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cape Town; Francesco Fuso Nerini, 24, who studied Environmental Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano; and Vincenzo Capogna who studied energy engineering from La Sapienza in Rome.

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Despite the team's second place finish SolarAid, the team's solar lighting industry partner and sponsor of the Energy Track of the HGCC, has expressed strong interest in working with the team to implement their solution. The team is now exploring different ways to make this happen. Stay tuned!

► Hult Global Case Challenge: Inside Look on Youtube

 

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