(LONDON – May 29, 2012) Driven by a desire to empower local communities in Africa, a team of six young social entrepreneurs at Hult International Business School will embark on a journey to Malawi, in search of sustainable innovations that will help eradicate poverty.
Project Gazelle, which is backed by the Merry Year Foundation, one of the lead partners of the Millennium Villages Project, and Hult, will take on a series of feasibility studies aimed at finding business opportunities in the village of Gumulira in Malawi. The six Hult students hope to develop several revenue-generating solutions to help the inhabitants of Gumulira lift themselves out of poverty and achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Project Gazelle started at Hult International Business School and is the brainchild of Jeong Tae Kim who previously worked with the Appropriate Technology Foundation in South Korea. Jeong Tae first visited Gumulira village in August 2011, alongside Rev. Dongho Kim, Chairman of the Merry Year Foundation. During his visit, he realized that, “a number of local opportunities existed, which had the potential of becoming the basis for sustainable social enterprises.” He added, “Some of these identified opportunities included do-it-yourself sanitary pads and charcoal production from corn waste.”
Motivated by a desire to make a real impact, Jeong Tae Kim approached his classmates, Marianna Mendivil, an anthropologist from Mexico; Paul Haaversen, a communications expert from Costa Rica; Marta Pérez Duque, an investment banker from Spain; Dominique Lambert, a charity fundraiser from Germany and May Lew from Australia, to help him kick-start this development project in Malawi.
The hope is that Project Gazelle can empower local communities by actively engaging them in the development process, making them key players rather than passive bystanders. The team leaves for Gumulira in May to find and test their business concepts. If they are successful then Project Gazelle may be replicated in other neighboring Millennium Villages to magnify the scope of their impact.
About Hult International Business School
Hult is the world’s most international business school with campuses in Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai, and Shanghai. The School offers a range of business-focused programs including MBA, Executive MBA, Master and Undergraduate degrees. Hult’s one-year MBA program is ranked in the top 30 in the world by The Economist and among the top 100 by the Financial Times. www.hult.edu.
Media Contacts
Carolin Bachmann, +44 (798) 534-0179, carolin.bachmann@hult.edu
Hult offers a range of highly skills-focused and employability-driven business school programs including a range of MBA options and a comprehensive one year Masters in International Business. To find out more, take a look at our blog From Hult to Apple: The journey of an entrepreneur. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself.