2021 St.Thomas Fowler Competitions Annual Report

ANNUAL

REPORT

FOWLER COMPETITIONS

PAGE 2

INSIDE 04

13

23

05

17

25

09

20

27

About the Fowler Competitions

FBCC Finalist Profiles

FBCC Impact & Financials

FGSIC at St.Thomas

Virtual Global Finals

Innovation Week

FGSIC Winning Teams

FGSIC Impact & Financials

Meet Seedloans

PAGE 3 Fewer things bring perspective in life like a storm. Over the last year, amidst the global pandemic, we all lived through some version of a storm, whether on a personal or community level. Without warning, we were thrust into a world where resilience, adaptability, innovation, and empathy became critical to surviving our day-to-day lives. Life Entrepreneurship 101? It most certainly felt like it.

Our Schulze School team experimented with new ways of delivering meaningful and impactful programs. Students rose to the challenge.

Whether on the St. Thomas campus for the virtual Fowler Business Concept Challenge (FBCC) or globally for the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge (FGSIC), we witnessed the tenacity and commitment of students driven by a passion for ideas and entrepreneurial thinking. Submissions for this year’s FBCC submissions rose by 57%, engaging 112 students across 30 disciplinary majors. Similarly, 49 teams from 15 countries participated in the FGSIC Global Finals, making it one of the strongest showings in the Challenge’s 10-year history. The virtual walls raised by the pandemic could not stop the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in our students.

So while storms carry their share of discomfort, their winds and rains often unearth strength we never knew we had. And they bring to the surface the areas where we can be better. Here in Minneapolis, a second storm blew through in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, pushing us to ask hard questions and to seek healing and rebuilding for a more just and inclusive future.

If we’ve learned anything in the last several months, it’s that we cannot go back to business as usual. At the core of entrepreneurship is the ability to evolve and solve problems that matter. In FBCC and FGSIC participants, we see a generation that is not satisfied with business as usual; a generation who believes that businesses can and should do more. By competing in both programs, students took the first bold step to test out their ideas. Inside this report, you will be inspired by the breadth of innovations they brought to the virtual stage!

We are grateful for a memorable year propelled by our ever-growing network of donors, mentors, and university partners. Our very special thanks go to Ron and Alexis Fowler. This work of building a future for all would be impossible without the faith you’ve placed in our students.

We look forward to another great year with you.

In community,

Nana Yaa Bankah Program Manager Fowler Competitions

Jessica Cooley Senior Director

Laura Dunham Associate Dean

PAGE 4

ABOUT THE FOWLER

COMPETITIONS Fowler Business Concept Challenge

Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge

Named after alumnus and benefactor Ron Fowler ‘66, the Fowler Business Concept Challenge (FBCC) ignites the entrepreneurial spirit of students across the St. Thomas campus. Competitors explore the entrepreneurial process by developing a concept with the potential to become a viable, high-growth business. The top 32 semifinalist teams across two tracks (business and social venture) compete in a semifinals round, with four teams from each track advancing to the finals where they compete for $62,000 in scholarships. Each semifinalist wins a minimum of $1,000 in scholarships, while the first-place finishers in the business and social venture tracks win $15,000.

Powered by the University of San Diego and the University of St. Thomas, the Fowler GSIC inspires student entrepreneurs around the world to engage with one or more of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to create business solutions to global issues. Since 2011, the Challenge has connected over 2,500 students from 25 countries around the world - including Australia, South Korea, Rwanda, Ireland, Mexico, and Peru - recognizing their outstanding social ventures based on positive impact and financial sustainability. To date, more than $600,000 has been distributed to seed the most innovative and promising global ventures.

PAGE 5

FOWLER BUSINESS CONCEPT CHALLENGE BUSINESS TRACK FINALIST PROFILES

EPIBLOCK Asher Anderson

Business Track entries focus on traditional commercial or service-oriented ventures, which are typically for-profits organized in B2B, B2C, or tech-based business models. Submissions must articulate how a concept contributes to the common good.

NANOCIDE Jack Queenan and Broderick Runez

Epiblock is a silicone-based product used to reduce the amount of blood and time it takes for nosebleeds to stop.

Nanocide is a novel phone screen using antimicrobial peptides to kill bacteria.

SIPLISAFE

VITISCHEDULE

Connor Glinski and Andrew Morse Siplisafe is a continuously monitoring “smart” straw with the ability to detect the full spectrum of date-rape drugs.

Rachel Farah VitiSchedule is a visual planning app to assist children who have autism spectrum disorder and bring structure to their lives.

PAGE 6

FOWLER BUSINESS CONCEPT CHALLENGE SOCIAL TRACK FINALIST PROFILES

AURIS AI Ebenezer Dadson

Social Track concepts focus on solutions to significant social or environmental problems using a for-profit, non-profit or hybrid model.

Emphasis is placed on the potential social impact of a concept and proposed measures of success.

THE GREEN MOUNTAIN PROJECT Cory Kaisersatt and Ben Hogan

Auris AI is an AI-assisted stethoscope that captures, analyzes, and interprets acoustic signals and indicates results in real-time.

The Green Mountain Project creates snow pants from repurposed billboard vinyl to assist people who are battling homelessness.

GOT IT FOODS

SPARKCONNECT

Jenny Behrens

Nicki Hangsleben

Got it Foods ships almost expired bundles of food to food deserts in the metro area at an affordable price.

Spark Connect (Now known as Queerspace), is amentorship program for at-risk LGBTQ+ youth.

Angelica Franaschouk, ‘23, Business Administration

#tommiepreneur

PAGE 7

CONNECTIONS The Fowler has taught me how to take any idea and turn it into a feasible business

concept. It taught me how to confidently take well-calculated entrepreneurial risks. I

am grateful for the connections that I’ve made with mentors, judges, and everyone along the way!

#tommiepreneur

PROTOTYPING A favorite memory of mine is when Ben and I prototyped our snow bibs and tested them out. We had the garage at my

place next to Davanni’s pizza restaurant covered in vinyl. We were trying to cut outlines of different pairs of pants to see

what would fit. Then we took them over to the create[space] and sewed them together. It was quite the experience and extremely fun! We

learned a ton through taking our idea, interviewing key stakeholders, prototyping and testing, and interviewing our speculated target market.

Cory Kaisersatt, ‘23 , Finance & Entrepreneurship; Minor in Data Analytics Ben Hogan, ‘23 , Entrepreneurship & Marketing

PAGE 8

IN THE

NEWS Fowler Business Concept Challenge Finalists Pay It Forward Excerpt from November 24, 2020, St.Thomas Newsroom article by Michael Derus

“I’m originally from a small country in Africa called Ghana. We have a saying. It’s called ‘Sankofa’ and it means to go back in your past and pull that experience with you or bring it forward,” said Ebenezer Dadson ’21, who brought home a scholarship worth $15,000 for first prize in the social venture track of the 2020 Fowler Business Concept Challenge. Dadson, who is pursuing his master’s degree in electrical engineering, won the award for Auris AI, innovative stethoscopes with the potential to save millions of lives.

Sankofa was a fitting theme for the Fowler Business Concept Challenge, which concluded in an online award ceremony last Friday. Ron Fowler, entrepreneur, and owner of the San Diego Padres graduated from the University of St. Thomas in 1966 and has been paying it forward ever since. This year, Fowler contributed a record $87,000 in scholarships which were awarded to a record 32 teams.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

University of St. Thomas President Julie Sullivan provided the ceremony’s keynote address. “Entrepreneurship has been a core value in Ron Fowler’s life. He has a true gift to see innovation and define potential in creative problem-solving, and more importantly, he generously shares this gift by encouraging and supporting students to create new ideas and spark innovation, and ultimately solve those problems that matter to them and our world. Ron is the ultimate difference-maker and he inspires all of us to do better ... Thank you, Ron, for creating this springboard that allows us to cultivate and reward the spirit of entrepreneurship in our students, and ultimately, in our world.”

PAGE 9

IMPACT &

Igniting St. Thomas entrepreneurs since 2009

FINANCIALS 129

95

71

FY2016

84 90

FY2017

78

64

56

FY2018

FY2019

104

88

Student Participants Submissions

FY2020

Mentoring

Learning

Networking

Fourteen mentors volunteered over 36 hours to applicants and semifinalist teams.

Even online, the annual Mentor Swarm event and one-on-one mentoring continued to be a mainstay of the student experience.

The speed coaching style of the Swarm gives teams the opportunity to receive a rich mix of perspectives from several mentors while the one-on-one sessions provide tailored feedback on an individual basis.

Building on participant feedback, we curated a selection of four workshops to meet students where they are. From finding a problem to solve to taking an idea from concept to business, our online sessions provided actionable tools and resources to support students in their journey.

In a year where everyone managed a myriad of commitments amidst changing work environments, our network of alumni and professionals showed up strong.

Twenty-six online reviewers and forty-eight semifinalist judges navigated the new virtual format with us, spurring new connections and providing invaluable feedback to students.

PAGE 10

88

Submissions

14

$62,000

Mentors

$72,441

2018

74

112

$87

Scholarships Awarded

Academic programs Judges and reviewers represented

,000

in scholarships

$87,000

$84,000

$10,441

30

Students engaged

$108,095

$101,781

$21,095

$17,781

2019

2020 Program Expenses

Total Costs (Scholarships + Program Expenses) Entrepreneurship (26%) Computer Engineering (14%) Computer Science (9%) Real Estate Studies (5%) Finance (8%) Graduate Degree (16%)

Predominant areas of study represented in the 2020 FBCC. Overall, participants represented 30 majors.

Asher Wu Anderson, ‘24, Entrepreneurship

#tommiepreneur

PAGE 11

COMFORT ZONES The 2020 Fowler Concept Challenge was truly a wonderful experience. The judges, faculty, and advisors provided excellent and professional advice to students in the

challenge; they put full effort into each student’s idea.

My main takeaway was not to be afraid of failure, instead, use it as a tool for success.

Get out of your comfort zone and go through the process of trial and error with a strong mentality and you’ll end up in a good position and appreciate the hard work you’ve done.

#tommiepreneur

CONFIDENCE My experience with the Fowler competition is something

that I will take with me well into my career if not for the rest of my life. The

competition helped me grow professionally as well as personally into a more confident leader and teammate.

The Fowler competition allowed me to explore an

entrepreneurial interest in a constructive, challenging, and

rewarding environment. I have already begun to draw from my experience in the Fowler for interviews, group projects, and career opportunities.

Clara Radloff, ‘22, Entrepreneurship; Minor in Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies

PAGE 12

MOTIVATION The general response, excitement, and

#tommiepreneur

recognition I received from the judges

helped me see how important this idea

was. I could feel that energy from them in each stage of the competition. I

placed fourth place which was amazing!

I didn’t need to win first place because what I gained from this experience was really that additional fire and motivation to continue to work on creating this organization.

Nicki Hangsleben, ’21 MBA, Founder & Executive Director, Queerspace

PAGE 13

THE FOWLER GSIC

AT ST.THOMAS

The Schulze School was especially honored to host the 2021 Global Finals for the first time this June. Connected by our passion for social business, 26 universities from 15 countries convened virtually to push boundaries, build bonds and inspire change. Each university advanced up to two teams to represent them in the competition.

In the coming pages, you will meet the St.Thomas finalist teams and see some of the highlights from our first year hosting the Global Finals.

In the second edition of the Fowler GSIC campus finals at St.Thomas, Tommiepreurs presented innovations ranging from intelligent stethoscopes for improved diagnostics and treatment to a visual planning and anxiety-relieving app for people with autism.

Before taking the virtual stage at the finals Awards Ceremony, six finalists pitched to a panel of judges on an innovation tackling one or more issues of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Each venture also presented an elevator pitch during our Innovation Showcase which featured an alumni spotlight, an audience giveaway, a keynote by Epimonia Founder Mohamed Malim, and the announcement of the top two teams who would move on to the Global Finals. Teams competed for a total of $10,000 in seed funding with $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place, $2,000 for third place, and an audience choice award of $500. Auris AI and LABLE placed first and second respectively, becoming this year’s Global Finalist teams to represent St.Thomas at the Finals.

WATCH THE ST.THOMAS FINALS AWARDS CEREMONY

PAGE 14

MEET THE ST.THOMAS FGSIC FINALISTS

AURIS AI - Global Finalist, $5,000

LABLE - Global Finalist, Audience Choice Award, $3,000

Auris AI’s intelligent stethoscope empowers clinicians by bringing the tools and expertise of the most knowledgeable cardiologists to their stethoscopes. Our technology eliminates unnecessary testing and shortens the time for treatment. With Auris AI, clinicians can save more lives, and hospitals and clinics can help make quality healthcare diagnostics more accessible.

LABLE is an interactive e-commerce platform that enables people living with disabilities to easily find accessible clothing without compromising their individuality. Our platform leverages existing small adaptive brands and designers, providing them with one centralized site to sell their designs. With the disconnect between designers and customers being the biggest cause of the clothing inequalities the disabled population faces, LABLE bridges this gap by providing an inclusive and sustainable solution.

PAGE 15

VISUPLAN

PROFOLIO

Third Place Winner, $2,000

Profolio is an online broker-dealer aimed at bridging the gap in economic inequality by increasing the financial literacy of the working class, growing the number of retail investors, and changing the way that brokerages charge for their services. Profolio allows individuals to learn about investing, construct their own portfolios, and buy and sell various investments such as stocks, ETFs, fixed-income, options, and crypto.

VisUplan is a visual planning and anxiety-relieving app for people with Autism. VisUplan's mission is to create accessible tools to promote equitable education for all.

ABROADSTUDIZ

THE WATER PROJECT

AbroadstudiZ is a community of shared values, empowerment, and full support for international students. International students can find an A-Z guidebook that guides them through the process of study abroad. They can sign up online to participate in a global online forum for international students or write blogs to share their experiences with other international students.

AbroadstudiZ also directs international students to affordable resources for all difficulties they may face during their courses of study.

Water Project aims to assist in providing funding for water systems across the US. There are about 1.4 million people in the country without proper access to drinkable water or plumbing in their homes. The Water Project will focus on connecting with households and organizations to support funding for sustainable water systems.

Funding will be raised through the sales of reusable water bottles and sticker books, featuring the work of artists in different geographical areas to raise awareness of the problem.

PAGE 16

IN THE

NEWS Two St. Thomas Teams Advance to Fowler GSIC Global Finals Excerpt from May 14, 2021, by The Newsroom

Seven St. Thomas students, representing two teams, are advancing to the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge (Fowler GSIC) Global Finals after successfully competing in the second annual Fowler GSIC held at St. Thomas in April. To compete in the Fowler GSIC, student teams identify a social or environmental problem of their choice then propose an innovative solution to their chosen problem. The two top St. Thomas teams, Auris AI and LABLE, both sought to empower individuals – clinicians and people living with disabilities, respectively. There were six teams in all, with 16 students representing 15 majors across the university.

“We celebrate the social entrepreneurs among us, those students who are tackling important societal challenges and working to make the world a better place through innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Laura Dunham, associate dean of the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship. “In a world of challenges, our students are not afraid to say, ‘There has to be a better way.’”

To support the six teams and all student participants, the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship hosted several workshops and mentoring sessions. Nineteen mentors, online judges, and finalist judges volunteered their time to make this competition possible.

The teams competing in the St. Thomas finals took home a total of $10,500 in cash prizes. At the Global Finals, Auris AI and LABLE will represent the university and have a chance to win up to $60,000 in seed capital prizes.

PAGE 17

2021 VIRTUAL

GLOBAL FINALS For the first time in its impactful 10-year run, the Global Social Innovation Challenge was hosted outside of San Diego by the University of St.Thomas. We would have wanted nothing more than to welcome our friends from around the world in person. But we relished the time spent building bonds virtually with students and university leaders across 13 time zones. Read on for more on this year’s event and winning teams.

Hempress Hygienics virtual booth. Our event site featured a virtual booth for all 49 finalist teams. An opportunity for attendees to learn more about each venture, its team members and hear their elevator pitch.

PAGE 18

A GROWING

GLOBAL NETWORK 2021 PARTICIPATING UNIVERSITIES Ashesi University Australian Catholic University University of Professional Studies, Accra CETYS Universidad, Campus Tijuana Colegio de la Frontera Norte CUIB Cameroon Davis College Akilah Campus Duke University Ewha Womans University Florida International University Heritage Christian College Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración Rollins College San Diego State University SP Jain St. Olaf College Tecnológico de Monterrey-Guadalajara Trinity College Dublin Universidad del Pacífico Universidad Francisco de Vitoria University of California, San Diego University of San Diego Université de Sherbrooke University of St. Thomas Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia University of Kentucky University of Oxford University of Texas at Austin Zagreb School of Economics & Management

Building Bonds, P

Pushing Boundaries, Inspiring Change

PAGE 19

PAGE 20

INNOVATION

Tue May 25

WEEK

Wed Jun 09

A week of pitching, learning, and connections Prior to pitching their ventures on June 7th and 8th, finalists participated in one-on-one pitch coaching and a workshop by pitch coach expert and angel investor, Debi Kleiman. Innovation Week kicked off with Pitch Days on June 7th and 8th, followed by a series of panels and workshops on topics from how to build a board of advisors to the role social businesses can play in rebuilding a post George Floyd world.

Thu Jun 10

Even though the participants of this challenge were located all around the world, I felt such a strong sense of community.

All our passion for making positive change brought us together and illuminated a collective. I was honored to be among these leaders and cannot wait to see the impact we manage to create in the near future. GSIC made me and my team feel so empowered, and we will take that with us as we continue on this journey to transform women’s health.

#socialinnovator

Joel Dong Long, Utopia, CUIB-Cameroon

I really enjoyed the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge. I was impressed with the quality of the programming even in the virtual format. Apart from Govuka’s assigned pitch days, I also received 1-on-1 coaching from Debi Kleiman and learned more about managing personal finances while building a startup. From the judges’ feedback, I learned that we need to get creative about Govuka’s business model to better deliver value to our target users.

Mckenna Avery, Co-Founder & COO of Hempress Hygienics, San Diego State University

#socialinnovator

#socialinnovator

PAGE 21

My group and I first took this up as just another fun experience, and then it became a life-changing one.

The competition gave me the opportunity to be creative, showcase that creativity, and learn a lot about entrepreneurship.... a wonderful experience!

Philile Shongwe, Founder and Executive Director of Govuka, Duke University

PAGE 22

AWARDS

CEREMONY Opening with a riveting performance

by SHAPESHIFT, a Minneapolis-based hip-hop storytelling dance company, the live stream of the finals awards ceremony featured the debut of four alumni videos, messages from the global network and elevator pitches from the winning teams.

The ceremony was a culmination of three days of pitches and professional development, celebrating the top 12 team teams that advanced to the Changemaker Round out of the group of 49. All 12 Changemaker teams received a minimum of $1,000 cash prizes. San Diego State University team, Hempress Hygenics won the third place prize of $5,000 while Big & Mini from the University of Texas, Austin won the second-place award of $10,000.

University of Oxford team Seedloans claimed the first-place prize, winning $22,000 in seed funding for their Ugandan-based venture. Two teams also

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

received additional awards of $1,000 each in this year’s special category tracks. A Diversity Equity & Inclusion Award was awarded to team Meraki of CETYS Universidad and a Women Innovators Award to Duke University team Govuka. Finalists that did not move forward to the Changemaker round but ranked high across the pitch days in their pitch room won $500 in cash awards.

PAGE 23 $22,000

MEET THE WINNING TEAMS

CHANGEMAKER AWARD WINNER FIRST PLACE | SEEDLOANS

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD Seeds as microloans to women smallholder farmers in rural Uganda - that is Seedloans. Farmers receive a package of 10kg robust seeds, fertilizer, training and direct digital support. This turns into 100kg harvest, of which farmers pay back 20kg. Like Microfinance but simple, targeted and use-orientated.

$1,000

ALGEON MATERIALS

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Algeon is fighting petroleum plastic pollution by leveraging ocean derived materials to create sustainable plastic alternatives.

KAI PONO SOLUTIONS

VEDITVA

By simulating a computer screen on smartphones, the Veditva app leverages India’s smartphone penetration and gamifies learning to equip students with computer skills.

CHANGEMAKER AWARD WINNER THIRD PLACE | HEMPRESS HYGENICS

SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY Hempress is an innovative feminine hygiene brand on a mission to provide women worldwide access to the highquality, natural products they deserve while also continuously striving to fight the stigma surrounding the female menstrual cycle.

$3,000

$2,000

GOVUKA | WOMEN’S INNOVATOR AWARD

HBN | AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD

GO ORGANIC is an agribusiness initiative which provides sustainable food and material resources for communities through the rearing of rabbits.

Govuka is an Eswanti-based youth leadership incubator that delivers a peer-led anti-sugar daddy campaign to reduce risky sex among adolescent girls.

HBN is dedicated to promoting health and wellbeing by making mental health services instantly available to smartphone users.

DUKE UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO

$1,000

$1,500

$1,000

RENMO

UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS

LABLE is an online marketplace seeking to eliminate inequalities in fashion for people living with disabilities through seamless connections to small adaptive brands.

$1,000

SP JAIN, INDIA

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN Big & Mini is a company that is using technology to bridge the generational divide and create meaningful relationships through 1:1 connections between youth and older adults. Through shared stories, new memories, and new friendships, we can connect everyone, one big and mini match at a time.

$5,000

GO ORGANIC

CUIB CAMEROON

LABLE

Kai Pono Solutions is a StormWater anagement solution that uses a Water Filtration Subsystem to stop the flow of hydrocarbons, sediments and toxic chemicals into waterways.

CHANGEMAKER AWARD WINNER SECOND PLACE | BIG & MINI

$1,000

$1,000

SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY

$10,000

$2,500

MERAKI

RUNNER UP I DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION AWARD Meraki creates accessible and tailor-made assistive technologies to promote social, academic and labor inclusion of people with severe disabilities in Mexico.

DUKE UNIVERSITY

R-VIVIENDAS

Renmo promotes housing equity by providing credit assessment that allows tenants to pre-finance and negotiate convenient payment terms.

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO

R-Viviendas is a Social Investment Fund that promotes systemic changes in the housing sector by creating affordable housing through the redevelopment of abandoned buildings.

RUNNER UP TEAMS ︱ $500 AWARD WINNERS AURIS AI University of St. Thomas

HYDELTECH Universidad Francisco de Vitoria

OZERO SOLUTIONS Université de Sherbrooke

CHARITABLE DONATIONS Florida International University

ISSB RWANDA Davis College, Akilah

PYSCH Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

ETHICART Trinity College Dublin

JEWELED University of California, San Diego

TEQUIO Technológico de Monterrey, Guadalajara

EXHALENCE, LLC Rollins College

MERAKI CETYS Universidad, Campus Tijuana

THE CLAW TECHNOLOGY Université de Sherbrooke

GARDEN MIMESIS Universidad Francisco de Vitoria

NET PHARMA Heritage Christian

URBEDEN CETYS Universidad, Campus Tijuana

PAGE 24

ALUMNI

SPOTLIGHT WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

Nathan Misichi, Co-Founder, Sensi

Anjali Gupta, CEO & Founder, School for a Village

2019 Global Finalist, Trinity College, Dublin. Winner of the Qualcomm Wireless Impact Award

2019 Global Finalist, Duke University

For social entrepreneur Nathan Misischi, it was one statistic that spurred the idea that evolved into the venture known as Sensi.

That globally, we operate at just 9% circularity; meaning only 9% of the 92.8 billion tonnes of materials that enter the economy gets reused and recycled. Dissatisfied by this fact, Nathan cofounded Sensi, an award-winning company that uses visual AI to develop Smart Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) to help solve recycling challenges. Sensi’s smart RVM series is the first in the world to incorporate visual AI, incentivizing users to properly dispose of recyclables by rewarding them with digital vouchers.

With a product portfolio providing solutions in the corporate, retail, transport, hospitality, and education sectors, Sensi is tackling the global waste problem one RVM at a time.

Anjali’s story began with her grandfather’s story. Growing up in the town of Bahjoi in India, her grandpa had no schools in his village.

When he later became a professor of Mathematics, he attributed his success to his education. Upon retirement almost 50 years later, Anjali’s grandpa started a school in his childhood town.

Determined to contribute to his mission, Anjali founded School for a Village, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to bridging the gap in science and technology education through need-specific support. Her organization works with secondary schools around the world to promote digital inclusion and quality education. In her words “this initial project, rooted in my family history, has since become so much more. It reflects my grandfather’s legacy and life-long commitment to education.”

PAGE 25

IMPACT & FINANCIALS

Collaboration Series

Student Development

The power of the FGSIC lies in the strength of our network. In the months before the finals, we piloted a monthly collaboration series that leveraged the expertise of our university leaders. Aimed at sparking connections in a virtual year, topics ranged from building pipelines and partnerships to best practices for equipping students.

Following pitch days, teams had the opportunity to learn from 13 speakers in 6 sessions. Sessions offered on June 9th highlighted themes around founders’ stories and personal development. June 10th sessions focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion within the social business context.

On the St. Thomas campus, we offered three workshops and one-on-one mentoring to help finalists refine their submissions and pitches.

Seedfunding/Awards

Expenses

St. Thomas FGSIC

St. Thomas & USD Partnership Through our partnership on the FGSIC, St. Thomas and the University of San Diego (USD) have increased the footprint of the Challenge to include 4 new countries while growing the university network within existing countries. We co-presented two sessions in the 2020 and 2021 Ashoka U Exchange, highlighting social innovators from both campuses and lessons from our joint collaboration to date.

Global Finals 2021

$5,000

$10,000

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

PAGE 26

UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 interlinked global goals, serving as “a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future.” This year’s 49 Global Finalist ventures engaged with one or more SDGs with their business-for-good solution. Below are the 2021 cohort’s primary goals.

23%

Good health and well-being

8%

14%

Sustainable cities and communities

8%

12%

35%

Quality Education

Responsible consumption and production

67 Judges

26

Universities

49

Global Ventures

Reduced Inequalities

Other SDGs

$61,500

Seed Funding Awarded

15

Countries

PAGE 27

MEET

SEEDLOANS Seeds as microloans - that’s Seedloans University of Oxford team Seedloans claimed the first-place prize of $22,000 at the Global Finals. A Ugandan-German team collaborating remotely from Uganda, Germany, and England, Seedloans is focused on increasing the food security of families in rural Uganda through a simple but effective idea. Female smallholder farmers receive 10 kg of seeds per person at sowing time. After three months, farmers grow can reap a harvest of 100 kg for family consumption, sales, or replanting, paying back 20 kg of seeds. Using a positive community snowball system, more women benefit from the alternative microloans and support through agri-training, fertilizer, and storage services. Since May 2020, the team has worked with more than 500 female farmers in Central and Eastern Uganda and hopes to impact thousands more in the coming years.

PAGE 28

THANK YOU Ron & Alexis Fowler

The Fowler Competitions are named in recognition of alumnus Ron Fowler ‘66, Chairman and CEO of Liquid Investments Inc., whose generous gifts to the University of St. Thomas have made these competitions and collaboration with the University of San Diego possible. We are immensely grateful to Ron and his wife Alexis for their continued generosity and passion for student entrepreneurs around the world.

To all our FY 2021 mentors, judges, reviewers, and partners, your support means the world to us. Thank you!

Abigail Jones Adam Choe Adam Rao Akmal Sabarudin Alexander Asmah Amanda McDole Amit Kakkad Amy Goldman Andy Cerio Angie Selden Angie Zavoral Conley Ann Herzog Drewiske Ann Winblad Anna Zwilling Anne Hendrickson Anne Painchaud-Ouellet Aras Chitradeep Arasu Sanjeevi Ato Ulzen-Appiah Betsy Lofgren Bliss Pierce-Strickland Bob Davis Brad Pulles Bret Busse Brian Mark Bruce Nordin Carley Stieg Celsa Guadalupe Sánchez Clara Radloff Char Dobbs

Chihiro Gustafson Christina Brandt Cihan Behlivan Claire Powell Cody Milewski Connie Rutledge Craig Herkert Damian Novak Dan Lipman Dave Igel Dave St. Peter David Lawrence David Turnham Debi Kleiman Denise Crossan Diana Kanchanasuwan Dominique Stewart Diane Paterson Don Waldoch Elaine Rasmussen Ellen Valde Emily Pritchard Emily Torgrimson Erica Koenig EY Foundation Fatoumata Jaiteh Femi Odebiyi Florence d Emmerez Frank Klisanich Gemma Donnelly Cox

Gene Munster Goran Oblaković Grace Gossen Greg Cash Greg Hennes Grover Jones Harry McNeely Heather Shirey Henry Kisitu Jack Cunningham Jake Smith James Usrey Jean Gabler Jeanine Bassett Jeff Mattson Jenny Amaraneni Jessica Moes Jewel Thompson Jill Putman Jodee Kozlak Joe Plante John Brothers John Etzell Joseph McCarney Josie Swanson Jules Porter Julie Reiter Juliet Zimmer Karl Benson Katherine Black

Keeli Gustafson Kelsey Vatsaas Ken Rance Kenya McKnight Ahad Kevin Knutson Kevin Mass Kristina Milewski Kwame Appah Laura Dunham Leon Wang Lisa Curtis Lisa Schlosser Lois Josefson Lou Anne Sexton Lou Raoila Louis King Luke Duggan Madison Gove Manuela Hill-Munoz Marcella de la Torre Mark Hintz Mark Rasmussen Mark Zesbaugh Martha Krueger Matt Geiser Matt Meents Maxine Bradshaw Megan Voorhees Melissa Nelson Michael Mader

Michelle Maryns Mike Conroy Mohamed Malim Molly Fuller Nakeisha Lewis Nicole Zwieg Daly Nunzia Auletta Patricia Marquez Patrick Campbell Paul Karon Paul Taylor Peter Seidler Phil Ebeling Polly Throntveit Preeti Higgins Preston Simons Prem Chandrani Priya Kannan Rachel Castro Rachel Rodriguez Schwab Rajiv Tandon Randy Treichel Reed Watson Richard Andolshek Richard Coffey Rick Olson Rick Pen Sarah Glatt Serenity Wright Shari Mohabir

Sophie Zwak Stephanie Lee Sue Marshall Susan Johnson Susie Eckstein Susie Wuollett Tami Sulistyo Tara Anderson Ted Robb Teddy Ruge Terri Barreiro Thomas Puff Thomas Puff, Esq. Tierney Wilson Tim Flynn Titus Lugero Tom Fletcher Tom Mahoney Tom Votel Tony Brausen Torrey Lau Uchenna Chukwu Vaughn Dierks Vicki Larson William Drew Yiyoung Chu Zainab Kabba