On April 17th, 2010, student social entrepreneurs from the Social Venture Creation class will be presenting their 'change-the-world' plans to a panel of judges composed of UofM faculty, industry experts, and potential funders.  The four social venture ideas address issues of food access in Detroit, healthcare in Lesotho, education in Kenya, and environmental issues in Ann Arbor.  

Brief descriptions of the projects:

• Fresh Food Detroit:  The Fresh Food Detroit team is exploring the distribution of low-margin fresh food through convenience stores, liquor stores, and gas stations in Detroit.  The hope is to improve health, create jobs, and spark development.  

• eHealth Exchange:  In January 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an acute shortage, and the uneven distribution of health workers within and between countries - a global health workforce crisis.  eHealth Exchange provides a software solution to global Ministry of Health eHealth mandates, targeting the health education crisis quotas for community-based health workers in Africa.

• IMAGINE Africa: The Imagine Project, currently administered from within the University of Michigan's College of Engineering, has successfully designed a system to bring high-speed, satellite-based internet connections to some of the most remote parts of the world.  Pilot deployments in rural Kenya have demonstrated that the unique combination of durable, off-the-shelf technology and local support are a viable model for bringing internet connections into rural African communities. 

• Community Car Sharing: Car sharing models like Zipcar have been successful in reducing the number of cars on the road and changing driving habits. However, this model still requires input of new cars to be successful.  A community car sharing program would utilize the unused capacity of existing vehicles, allowing car owners to rent their vehicles and earn income while providing non-car owners with access to a car at an affordable rate for a short period of time.  

This event is open to the public and well take place at the Ross School of Business (room R1210) from 10am to noon. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided. 

If you would like to learn more about the projects or help these teams out, please let me know!

Download the Flyer Here