Kellogg students recognized in three social impact competitions in April

4/12/2017 - Kellogg students are kicking off the spring quarter with a trio of competition wins that showcase their ongoing commitment to the social impact space.

“I’m thrilled by the recognition our students are receiving for their innovation and acumen spanning a variety of social impact realms, from social entrepreneurship to impact investing to sustainable finance,” said Megan Kashner, Director of Social Impact at Kellogg and Clinical Assistant Professor of Public-Private Interface, KPPI.

Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge | EduIndia

A Kellogg team of students was awarded the top prize at the Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge, on April 7 at Morgan Stanley’s headquarters in New York. EduIndia, a loan fund to build new high-quality private schools in India, is comprised of three students: Ashwin Halgeri ‘18, Chris Shaw ‘17, and Erica Hoeveler ‘17. The group had advanced to the finals along with 9 other teams selected from a pool of 196 students from 37 countries.

The Challenge seeks to harness the power of capital markets and student creativity to create positive impact in a world of perpetual resource scarcity and continued population growth. Kellogg School of Management and Morgan Stanley partner to host the annual challenge where teams of graduate students from around the globe develop and pitch creative financial approaches to tackle our world’s most pressing challenges. As the winning team, EduIndia will receive prize money of $10,000 and present on a panel at the 20th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference with David Chen, Principal & CEO, Equilibrium Capital and Adjunct Professor of Finance at Kellogg School of Management.

Global Social Venture Competition | Kheyti

Saumya ‘17, was awarded first place for her startup Kheyti at the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) and Global Finals on April 7 at UC Berkeley-Haas. Kheyti designs, adapts and implements low-cost farming solutions that help small farmers increase yield and predictability of produce.

GSVC seeks to empower the next generation of social entrepreneurs by providing them with mentoring, exposure, and over $80,000 in prizes to transform their ideas into ventures that address the world’s most pressing challenges. Teams from across the globe learn how to design scalable models through a process that emphasizes stakeholder discovery, business innovation, and social impact assessment. Kheyti will receive $40,000 to continue scaling the operation.

MIINT | A Team of Six Students

Michael Pelehach ‘17, Nika Cassel-Feiss ‘18, H. Kay Merriman ‘17, Michele Straite ‘18, Lindsey Skinner ‘18, Ashley Carrick ‘17 was awarded first runner-up at The MBA Impact Investing Network & Training (MIINT) on April 8 at The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

MIINT is an experiential lab designed to give students at business and graduate schools a hands-on education in impact investing. Kellogg’s MIINT team pitched to a panel of prospective impact investors on the financial and impact opportunities for mental health start-up Level Therapy, a virtual reality-based therapeutic approach. Thanks to the Kellogg team’s performance in pitching, Level Therapy will receive a $25,000 investment.