The rise of Hult undergraduates
at the Hult Prize
Connected by a mutual passion to change the world, team
Enpov made history as the first undergraduate team to make it
to the Accelerator Final stages. Here’s a look at their journey:
An intense year-long competition, the
Hult Prize certainly isn’t for the fainthearted.
It challenges aspiring entrepreneurs to bring
their A-game and see if they have what it
takes to truly change the world. It requires
passion, commitment, and a socially
motivated business mindset.
Hanny Semere, Patricio Gerpe, Ikran Zakir,
and Dusmaan Dahir—four Hult Bachelor
of Business Administration students—were
among 2018’s finalists competing for the USD
$1M prize. Together as Team Enpov, they
overcame every obstacle thrown at them.
The idea The test run
Unified by a ‘nothing can stop us’
attitude, Enpov wasted no time getting
their idea off the ground. The team returned to Ethiopia to continue
field research and pilot their initial idea.
Thanks to the corporate sponsorship secured
by Patricio and the home court advantage of
Ikran and Hanny being Ethiopian nationals,
the team quickly connected with local
farmers and government officials.
They pitched for corporate sponsorship,
had a field research trip in Ethiopia, and
participated in hackathon style sessions to
build their E-gari business model. The
idea: A hybrid tricycle solution to tackle rural
isolation and increase access to
agricultural markets.
The first win
With a promising business case and
a prototype on the way, Enpov won the
first round of the Hult Prize. Seeing off
competition from their postgraduate peers,
they became the first undergraduate team
to move on to the Regionals.
The competition
In spring 2018, the team secured third
place out of 30 at the Regional London
Final. The team later won the wildcard
round and attended the Accelerator
Program in summer 2018, and are now
ready to launch their idea in the market
place. Stay tuned on enpov.com.
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