A four-person team from University College London (UCL) won the prestigious 9th annual Hult Prize, a startup program for student impact entrepreneurs. Their venture, SunRice, is an agricultural startup that improves farmer income through larger rice yields and land turnover—having the ultimate goal of improving millions of livelihoods in Southeast Asia and beyond.
The team stood among five other finalists selected from over 100,000 colleges in 121 countries, presenting their idea at the United Nations Headquarters. The panel that selected this winning idea included UN officials, celebrities, entrepreneurs, and corporate executives like Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, Arianna Huffington, and the President of Earthday, Kathleen Rogers.
Ahmad Ashkar, president and CEO of the Hult Prize, spoke about the winning idea with enthusiasm. He said, “This business is going to radically change everything we think know about rice trade and I am excited about the potential impact their company will have on society and the prospect of building out the world’s first socially responsible rice brand.”
UCL’s team received their award from President Bill Clinton, who also announced the upcoming 10th year Anniversary Hult Prize Challenge. This next challenge focuses on youth unemployment, tasking students worldwide with building startups that collectively make meaningful work opportunities for one-million young people. The grand prize for this is one million dollars in startup capital.
