Global Challenge

Not a case competition.  Not a business plan competition.

The Global Challenge is a unique opportunity to devise an entirely new public-private alliance--one that will allow a private enterprise to contribute to international development initiatives in a specified region. This event is being held in the spirit of President Obama’s Global Engagement,
which seeks to address development challenges by engaging and empowering local stakeholders.

We invite MBA and graduate students from across the nation to employ their creativity, research skills, business acumen and passion for seeking solutions that advance growth and reduce poverty.

Congratulations to the winning team of Andrew Gendreau, Bryan Stroube and Robert Vesco of the Smith School of Business for their innovative proposal, "Sustainable Micro-tourism Homestay Program in Thailand." They were awarded $5,000, and along with the other finalists, their paper will be distributed throughout the international development community.

2nd Place - Samiya Edwards, Naureen Kabir, Tara Nicholson and Tzyy-Ming Yeh (Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies/Wharton School of Business), "Kulen Promtep, Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary and Ecolodge."

3rd Place - Daniel Branscome, W. Nathaniel Brown, Ngan Nguyen and Alice Ntambi (Smith School of Business), "Public-Private Partnership Medical Tourism in Vietnam."

Special thanks to all the participating teams! Read more about each of the finalists' proposals.

The Global Challenge is brought to you by USAID’s Business Growth Initiative and the Smith School’sCenter for Social Value Creation and Center for International Business Education and Research.