A team from the University of Michigan won first prize in Knox Lawrence International LLC’s (KLI) inaugural Africa MBA Business Plan Competition for its strategy to cultivate and market a plant whose oil extract has potential for use in biodiesel.
The four-member team representing the university’s Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources and Environment received the USD 10,000 award, besting the finalists from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and Columbia Business School. The contest’s participants had been tasked by Knox Lawrence, a New York-based private equity firm, to address the theme of “microfinance applications in sub-Saharan Africa.”
The winning project is called Mozergy, and it involves the production of jatropha, a hearty and drought-resistant plant found in southern Africa whose seeds can provide a crude bio-oil for use in biodiesel. The group plans to use the money to help execute their plan, which starts with a central “core farm” for jatropha in Mozambique and gradually trains local workers until they can be certified in jatropha production. Once certified, these farmers would then qualify for microloans, equipment leases, and fair contracts for the purchase of their jatropha product. An alternative energy company, Imperium Renewables, has already expressed interest as a potential first customer.
In reviewing the plan, the panel of judges saw that it addressed issues of global warming, energy security, high oil prices, and economic underdevelopment in Africa.
The runners-up received USD 3,000 and USD 2,000 prizes. The Berkeley team proposed setting up a network of microlenders in Africa for the compilation of data that could be used by outsiders to assess their transaction history and creditworthiness. The Columbia team’s plan was to start an electric utility company that would provide seller-financed solar panels to rural Africans.
The competition began last year, with KLI targeting second-year MBA students at top-tier U.S. business schools interested in entrepreneurship, emerging markets, and microfinance. Plans were submitted and three finalists announced in November; the panel of judges then evaluated the plans in December. Going forward, the competition will be continued on an annual basis and will remain Africa-focused, serving as a platform to launch the winners’ ideas upon graduation.
Knox Lawrence International is a boutique private equity firm founded in 2001 that focuses on leveraged buyouts of small- to mid-size subsidiaries of large corporations.
By Stephen Son
Additional Resources:
University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environment: “Erb students wins inaugural Africa MBA Business Plan Competition”
SFGate.com: “Haas MBA team wins business plan prize”
Mozergy: Home Page
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