NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, October 10, 2013

More than 50 entries from 34 universities and 15 countries were received for the 2014 NextBillion Case Writing Competition.

The global competition is sponsored by the Citi Foundation and the NextBillion website, and is administered by GlobaLens, WDI’s case publishing division. NextBillion is an initiative of WDI.

The 52 entries are from 105 different people who entered individually or as part of a team. The countries represented are: Colombia, China, India, France, USA, Canada, Ethiopia, Denmark, Philippines, Grenada, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Australia.

Some of the universities include: the Indian Institute of Management (India); Brigham Young University (USA); University of Colorado (USA); Purdue University (USA); Cape Breton University (Canada); Copenhagen University (Denmark); St George’s University (Grenada); Griffith University (Australia); National University (Bangladesh); Lahore University of Management Science (Pakistan); Tsinghua University (China); University of San Carlos (Philippines); and Dilla University (Ethopia).

The entrants now must submit their case study by the Dec. 20 deadline. Learn more about important dates, and get access to helpful resources here.

This is the fourth NextBillion Case Writing Competition, which recognizes and publishes the best-written case studies about business strategies aimed at alleviating poverty, especially in the developing world.

The case writing competition engages students and faculty on campuses all over the world in the emerging field of social ventures. Students and student teams, under the supervision of a university faculty member, submit original cases that describe a challenge faced by a company or organization as it tries to create a sustainable, scalable business venture aimed at alleviating poverty, especially in the developing world.

The contest’s primary goal is to generate, publish, and disseminate the latest and most compelling case studies about positive social impact. By doing so, students who will be the business leaders of tomorrow will be better prepared to bring about improved economic well-being for the billions of people at the base of the pyramid.

Last year, a team from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce wrote the winning case about a successful Indonesian bank that also creates positive social change.

Prize money for the winning cases remains the same from last year. The first place team will receive $3,500. Second place will receive $2,500, and third $1,000. There also are two honorable mentions.

In addition to the prize money, winning entries (including the honorable mentions) also will be added to GlobaLens’ Base of the Pyramid Collection, one of the largest available from any publisher. Each will be marketed to top business schools worldwide for adoption in business courses.