Aberystwyth team reaches regional finals of the world’s largest student competition

A team of three Aberystwyth University students have been selected from more than 25,000 applications to compete in the regional finals of the world’s largest student competition to solve some of the toughest challenges facing the world today.
Undergraduates Brandon Ribatika from the School of Management and Business, Mohammed Waqas from the Department of International Politics and Sohail Iqbal from the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, are representing Aberystwyth University in the London regional final of the Hult Prize on 11-12 March 2016.
The Hult Prize is an annual competition which sees budding young social entrepreneurs from universities across the world competing in teams to create innovative start-up enterprises that tackle global challenges such as poverty, food security and affordable housing.
The winning team is given the opportunity to make their ideas reality with the help of $1million in seed funding, as well as mentoring and advice from the international business community.
For this year’s theme, ‘Crowded Urban Spaces: Doubling Income through Connectivity’, competitors have been asked to develop ideas for sustainable efficient social enterprises that improve connectivity and provide quality income-generating opportunities for the millions of people living in urban poverty across the world, which can include those living in slums and refugee camps.
Aberystwyth team member Brandon Ribatika, originally from Zimbabwe, who is a first year student studying Economics explains what it means to the team to be selected from so many applications: "It is a massive achievement to have got to this stage of the competition. The Hult Prize is prestigious competition bringing together business minds around the world. It is an honour to represent the University at the regional finals of the competition, and we would be so proud if we could win it for the University.”
Global regional rounds take place in Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai, and Shanghai, as well as a virtual ‘wildcard’ online competition.
Winning teams from the six regional rounds will attend the Hult Prize Accelerator during July and August, a six-week program of intensive entrepreneurial seminars hosted by Hult International Business School.
The Hult Prize Global Finals and Award Ceremony are hosted by President Bill Clinton during the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York in September.

Photo: Left to Right: Aberystwyth University undergraduate students Brandon Ribatika from the School of Management & Business, Mohammed Waqas from the Department of International Politics and Sohail Iqbal from the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, are representing the University in the London regional final of the Hult Prize on 11-12 March 2016.

Further information about the Hult Prize http://www.hultprize.org/