The Hult Prize

The Hult Prize Foundation is a start-up accelerator for budding young social entrepreneurs emerging from the world’s universities. Named as one of the top five ideas changing the world by President Bill Clinton and TIME Magazine, the annual competition for the Hult Prize aims to create and launch the most compelling social business ideas—start-up enterprises that tackle grave issues faced by billions of people. Winners receive USD1 Million in seed capital, as well as mentorship and advice from the international business community.

2017 Challenge is “Refugees – Reawakening Human Potential”.

The 2017 Hult Prize “President’s Challenge” is “Refugees – Reawakening Human Potential” and will focus on restoring the rights and dignity of people and societies who may be, or are forced into motion due to social injustices, politics, economic pressures, climate change and war.  We will also work to restore the rights and dignity of those currently living in informal / illegal settlements. Our aim is to reach 10M by 2022 and believe young people and their collective wisdom is the only way forward.  This challenge was selected by President Bill Clinton and announced at the 2016 Hult Prize Finals and Awards program New York.

1. Hult Prize Foundation is estimating the total number of global refugees to be at 1 billion, not the UN and generally accepted number of 60M.
2. The refugee cycle has been re-defined into 4 stages; pre-movement, in-motion, temp relocation, permanent status
3. The 2017 Challenge outlines very clear areas for disruptive innovation in each stage of the cycle
4. Refugees present one of the world’s largest untapped economic opportunities
5. Reawakening human potential in refugees in motion unlocks the need for social innovation across a range of social service categories.

This case study is your guiding document to constructing your social venture. It will be released in early October.  It has been written exclusively for this year’s Hult Prize, and takes a deep dive into the journey of a refugee, from the moment in time that movement becomes a possibility – not a reality. Where other organizations have failed, we believe the Hult Prize can be successful by challenging young people around the world to reimagine how to turn one of modern days fastest growing challenges into the greatest renaissance of entrepreneurship the world has ever seen. Rather than focus on aid and charitable approaches to refugee migration, we focus this challenge on the reawakening of human potential. We want to restore pride, dignity and self-worth back to those what have been impact by social injustices, war and economic depression. We believe that reaching our target of 10M people by 2022 is realistic and bold.

Authored by the Hult Prize Foundation in close collaboration with President Bill Clinton and his team, the private and public sector experts involved in the issue, the 2017 Challenge is our biggest and boldest yet.

The “2017 President’s Challenge” and guiding document can be downloaded above and here.  An updated version will be made available upon the selection of regional finalists.

Official Link: http://www.hultprize.org

Deadline: 30th October, 2016

Apply Here