Nigerian students scooped the pool in the 2010 Global Enterprise Experience, winning the champion journal, champion team, and three of the six commitment awards.
Oyehan Tajudeen Adeyinka of Obafemi Awolowo University , with his team members from New Zealand , Colombia , USA and Sweden , wrote the winning proposal to use amaranth, a weed, to create cosmetics and nutritious food for women in Kenyan villages,
The global contest has 550 participants from 30 countries in 68 global virtual teams. Over three weeks they met on line, chose a project, then researched, designed and jointly wrote a business proposal for a product or service to foster women’s social and/or economic development.
The contest is run from New Zealand with the aim of creating future global leaders who can work in partnership across cultures, world views and levels of wealth and poverty.
Adeniyi Sheriff Adebowale from Obafemi Awolowo University won the champion journal award. He grew up in extreme poverty in remote Nigeria but pursued education to get himself out. He sold his cellphone to afford the internet cost to communicate with his global team. Judge, Anu Mukherjee, said of his journal, “Thank you for the opportunity to read such an amazing journey of a prospective future social entrepreneur”.
Some participants went to extraordinary lengths to contribute to their teams and won commitment awards. This year there were 12 Iranian Baha’i, who are banned from attending public universities because of their faith. One has already spent two months imprisoned for his faith, and accused of communicating with foreigners. It is with great personal risk that these Baha’is participated in the Global Enterprise Experience working online in global teams.
Nigerian Commitment Award winners were Sowemimo Olubukola James of Obafemi Awolowo University , was called up for national youth service in a remote village with no electricity. He walked long distances to find a functioning internet to contribute to his team, fasted to afford the internet cost, and then contracted malaria – and still completed on time.
Tommy Israel Etim of Obafemi Awolowo University travelled to firewood dependent Kwara State to do market research on the need for solar powered cooking for his team report. And Amusa Jumoke Fatimah of Olabisi Onabanjo University each night worked the early hours to use the cheaper internet facilities.
The winning business concept – Amaranth for Africa – proposed to train and franchise women in Kenya to grow amaranth. The company will buy the seeds to convert into valuable oils that retails for $32 per ounce for use in cosmetics. The women will be able to keep the leaves, roots and stems which provide healthy nutrition. Amaranth grows rapidly like a weed in arid climates, but requires manual labour to harvest.
The 68 teams were judged by the Hon. Maryan Street (NZ Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Trade), Helen Sutch (Pro Chancellor at Victoria University of Wellington), Her Excellency Caroline Chrétien (Canadian High Commissioner to New Zealand ) and Anu Mukherjee (National Bank NZ and a successful Indian social entrepreneur).
Helen Sutch, judge and Pro Chancellor at New Zealand ’s Victoria University said, “This has been a most interesting and at times moving task. I am impressed at the thoughtfulness and concern of these teams, and the way the project has stimulated and enabled young people in poor countries, alone and facing formidable obstacles in the most difficult environments, to participate. It also appears to have been a life-changing experience for some of them.”
Members of the winning team are: Jas Giri ( New Zealand ), Andrea Serna Restrepo and Marcela Arcila Velez ( Colombia ), Jason Kirby and Alyssa Silver (USA), Oyehan Tajudeen Adeyinka ( Nigeria ) and Miha Sebenik ( Sweden ).
