Lehigh Student Startup Kickstarts Ghanian Shea Industry
When it comes to startup companies, often the best route of success means going right to the source. For Lehigh University College of Business and Economics grad Miles J. Davis’ (’16), that meant traveling all the way from Bethlehem, PA, to West Ghana for the purest shea butter in the world.
Shea butter is famous for its cosmetic and skincare applications, as well as its uses in waterproofing waxes, cooking oils, wood preserving, toilet tissue, and candle-making. Shea butter is produced by extracting fat from the nut of the fruit of the shea tree, which is indigenous to the dry Sahel region of Africa, which spans northern Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In his master’s thesis, Davis outlined a plan to develop an ecologically, agriculturally, and financially sustainable production system for shea butter processing in Ghana.
“My dream for this project is to help develop a permaculture system that will have a collective positive impact,” Davis tells Lehigh. “Permaculture is a whole functioning system where everything coexists in balance. It requires a lot of observing and listening to learn how natural systems work and how to make human systems function just as organically and just as naturally.”
Davis’ research focuses on land-use policy. “Who owns the land? Who can get access to shea trees to make shea butter from the shea nuts? What policies are in place to protect these forests so people don’t cut down the trees to get firewood for their cook stoves? How do we develop better roads and transportation methods for people living in this region so they can get to the main market and sell their stuff?”
Superior Shea is just one small step in Davis’ vision for an economically emerging Ghana.“Ghana has one of the strongest economies in Africa. It is definitely on the rise. There’s a lot of potential for growth, in terms of sustainability through business, improved infrastructure and sanitation.”
You can read more of Kurt Pfitzer’s in-depth interview with Davis here and get more familiar with Superior Shea on Facebook.
Berkeley Haas Student App Helps Empower Syrian Asylum-Seekers
Students at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley have found a unique and important way to potentially help the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis through a new student-built crowd-source platform.
Founded by Sarrah Nomanbhoy, MBA ’18, who’d previously launched a seed accelerator for new Sri Lankan startups, MarHub came to life with the help of a $5,000 Dean’s Seed Fund grant, a $5,000 Hansoo Lee Fellowship, and a $12,500 Jack Larson Scholarship. Nomanbhoy’s idea emerged from last year’s Hult Prize Challenge on Refugees.
Along with significant contributions from co-founders Jerry Philip, EWMBA ’19; Peter Wasserman, MBA/MPH 18; and Srinivas Vaidyanathan, EWMBA 18, MarHub addresses a common concern among refugees who struggle to navigate confusing and often conflicting sources of information once they reach a border.
Nomanbhoy explained in a recent interview, “Information from humanitarian agencies [was] too general, and social media was filled with unverified rumors. About 70 percent of asylum seekers receive negative decisions after this first set of interviews, and many are now in limbo pending the outcome of the appeal process.”
“The hard part psychologically is not knowing how long the wait is going to be. Time moves very slowly when you’re waiting in a queue, but imagine not knowing whether you’ll be stuck for two months or two years,” Philip added
Based on interviews at the Ritsona and Chios refugee camps in Athens, Greece, the MarHub platform evolved into a Facebook messenger-enabled chatbot that allows refugees to “view, evaluate, and comment on information from humanitarian agencies, volunteers on the ground, and other asylum seekers.” As MarHub accumulates users, “the data collected will enable more accurate, timely responses.”
But Chatbots are merely the beginning of Nomanbhoy’s plans for MarHub. Her long-term goal is to use data to “improve migration management” full stop. The product is expected to begin its initial pilot service with Greece’s RefuComm this fall, followed by more rounds of seed funding.
D’Amore-McKim Student Startup Offers Up Ultimate Snacking Solution
A new line of handcrafted, high-protein, low-fat chocolates has sprung up from a brand new D’Amore-McKim alumni startup, that offers a “snacking solution for those looking for a healthy treat to sate their hunger between meals.”
Berkeley-Haas Student Startups at Cutting Edge of Social Enterprise
Berkeley-Haas student and alumni startups are usually on the cutting edge of industry trends, so its no wonder the newest batch is continuing that line of success.
Haas Student Startups Snag Dean’s Seed Fund
UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business recently published an article about this spring’s round of Dean’s Seed Fund grants, which awarded 11 student startups instead of the usual ten.
Rady Students Showcase Startups at 4th Annual StartR Demo Day
UCSD’s Rady School of Management published an article on the fourth annual StartR Demo Day, a twice-a-year acceleration program that provides “students and alumni the tools needed to start and grow their businesses” through “hands-on company development and mentorship.”
According to the article, StartR companies have “raised in excess of $22 million,” with eight startups gaining admission to prestigious incubator EvoNexus.
Six teams presented their innovative startup plans at the most recent conference:
AirCourse offers “access to food options across the airport” for hungry flyboys and girls. “Travelers input flight departure times and gate numbers,” and in return the app displays “available food options that will be delivered before departure.”
MobeWash is an eco-friendly, “waterless mobile car washing service” designed with California’s drought in mind.
Clarity Genomics is a “platform for integrative analysis of direct-to-consumer microbiome, metabolome and genome sequencing results that enables users to import sequencing data from testing services.”
Apollo Mail employs a chat-style view to “redefine how e-mail is accessed and viewed” by mirroring a “standard text message screen rather than a traditional e-mail format.”
Diario is a device that “allows children to document their feelings throughout the day.” Diario links up with “parent’s smartphones, which allows the parents to track how their children are feeling.” Probably not going to fly with teens.
Braykion is a “wearable smartband system” that “monitors, records and remind healthcare workers to wash their hands throughout the day, and especially before and after interacting with a patient.”
