2023
INSIDE
ABOUT THE FOWLER BCC
FOWLER BCC FINALISTS PROFILES
FOWLER BCC IN THE NEWSROOM
FOWLER BCC IMPACT AND FINANCIALS
ABOUT THE FOWLER GSIC
FOWLER GSIC FINALISTS PROFILES
FOWLER GSIC IN THE NEWSROOM
FOWLER GSIC IMPACT AND FINANCIALS
FOWLER GSIC PANEL DISCUSSIONS
STUDENT EXPERIENCES
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ABOUT
Named after alumnus and benefactor Ron Fowler ’66, the Fowler Business Concept (FBCC) ignites the entrepreneurial spirit of students across the St. Thomas campus. Competitors explore the entrepreneurial process by developing a concept with the potential to become a viable, highgrowth business. The top 32 semifinalist teams across two tracks (business and social venture) compete in a semifinal round, with four teams from each track advancing to the final where they compete for $87,500 in scholarships. Each semifinalist wins a minimum of $1,000 in scholarships, while the first-place finishers in the business and social venture tracts win $15,000.
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FOWLER BUSINESS CONCEPT CHALLENGE BUSINESS TRACK FINALISTS Business Track entries focus on traditional commercial or service-oriented ventures, which are typically for-profits organized in B2B, B2C, or tech-based business models. Submissions must articulate how a concept contributes to the common good.
A social media app to help four-year universities increase student retention and engagement by minimizing student anxiety and stimulating faceto-face conversations to lead to meaningful relationships, unlike college engagement platforms.
An app that allows users to play games created by advertisers in exchange for subscription services like Spotify Premium.
Cole Heppner ‘23 and Garret Dwire ‘23
Zack Navone ‘26 and Max Karas’ 24
A face scanning technology to allow EMTs to provide better care to patients in an emergency.
Takes the equipment and supplies needed for the most common medical emergencies that first responders and medical staff face and puts them into their own kit within the first responder’s existing kit
Jenny Behrens MBA’23 and Ben Taylor MBA’23
Parker Stromquist ‘25
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FOWLER BUSINESS CONCEPT CHALLENGE SOCIAL TRACK FINALISTS Social Track concepts focus on solutions to significant social or environmental problems using a for-profit, non-profit, or hybrid model. Emphasis is placed on the potential social impact of a concept and proposed measures of success.
A platform that fairly distributes daily job opportunities among the working population in Syria.
A project addressing the energy and health constraints faced by women in Ethiopia as well as the ongoing practice of using firewood collected directly from forests to fuel household activites.
Georges Macheta ‘25 and Regina Talavera ‘25
Beamlak Petros ‘26
Reclaims raw materials from lithium ion batteries in a sustainable and efficient manner, redirecting them from the landfills, rivers, and main ecological systems to tools for bettering the environment.
An interactive app designed with the purpose to help Hispanic Americans obtain financial literacy
Gabriel Riegert ‘25
Montserrat Blanco Lopez ‘25
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FOWLER BUSINESS CONCEPT CHALLENGE SOCIAL TRACK FINALISTS
Herzog, who passed away in October 2021 after a battle with cancer, founded House of Talents, a company connecting artisans in developing countries with consumers worldwide, after earning her MBA. “Kate was a remarkable person – fearless, generous, unsparingly honest, profoundly committed to lifting others up through House of Talents,” Opus College of Business Dean Laura Dunham said. “Her loss is greatly felt, but her legacy even more so. She leaves behind a tremendous legacy of love, friendship and lives forever transformed and bettered by her efforts, achievements, and example.” Chumisa, one of the social venture track applicant teams founded by Justa Heinan-Kay, was awarded a $2,500 scholarship as the recipient of the Kate Herzog Memorial Award. Through a partnership with three young residents in one of the largest townships in Cape Town, Chumisa addresses poverty alleviation, food security and environmental sustainability in South Africa. “In the spirit of Kate’s work with House of Talents, Chumisa exemplifies the investment of time, passion and partnership with the local community that is so needed in this hard work of lasting social impact,” Dunham said. “We’re excited for what the future holds for Justa and her partners as they look to pilot their model in 10 households this December.”
Empowers residents of Khayelitsha, South Africa’s largest township, to earn supplemental income by composting their food scraps using worms, also known as vermicomposting.
Justa Heinan-Kay MBA ‘23
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IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Gabriel Riegart ’25 (Social Track)
Regina Talavera ’25 (Social Track)
Max Karas ’24 (Business Track)
Zack Navone ’26 (Business Track)
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IN THE NEWS
ST. THOMAS STUDENTS PURSUE NEXT BIG IDEA
Excerpt from November 22, 2022, St. Thomas Newsroom article by Brant Skogrand ‘04 MBC
Students competed for more than $88,000 in scholarships with ideas ranging from face scanning technology for EMTs to an app helping Hispanic Americans obtain financial literacy. “The Fowler Business Concept Challenge is a semester-long labor of love of the Schulze School, but more importantly it is a premier educational experience, where students from around our university reach deep into themselves and find their own unique gift and will to create,” Schulze School Associate Dean Sheneeta White said. “This is a place where they can develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to be entrepreneurial thinkers and doers, innovators for the common good.” Entries were judged on a variety of merits including originality, clear and compelling value proposition, competitive advantage, and market opportunity and feasibility. This year’s group of judges included 53 local entrepreneurs and business leaders, including 31 who are St. Thomas alumni.
“Entrepreneurship is about sparking creative confidence. It takes courage to put yourself out there and expose an idea to the world for feedback,” St. Thomas President Rob Vischer. With 85 students submitting 59 business ideas, the top 32 teams competed in the morning semifinals, with the top four teams from each track advancing to the finals in the afternoon.
(From left): Ron Fowler; Regina Talavera; Georges Macheta; sponsors Jill '96 MBA and Jim Putman '97 MBA, '01 MSS; and University of St. Thomas interim President Rob Vischer. (Kurt Stepnitz Photography)
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Entries were judged on a variety of merits including originality, clear and compelling value proposition, competitive advantage, and market opportunity and feasibility. This year’s group of judges included 53 local entrepreneurs and business leaders, including 31 who are St. Thomas alumni.
IMPACT AND FINANCIALS BY THE NUMBERS Since inception, has drawn more than 1,500 students and awarded more than $876,000 in scholarships.
Scholarships
Business Ideas
$88,500 Students
59
Majors
Local Judges
53 85
25
Alumni Judges
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ABOUT
Powered by the University of San Diego and the University of St. Thomas, the Fowler GSIC inspires student entrepreneurs around the world to engage with one or more of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to create business solutions to global issues. Since 2011, the Challenge has connected over 2,500 students from 25 countries worldwide – including Australia, South Korea, Rwanda, Ireland, Mexico, Cameroon, Canada, Ghana, Bangladesh, Venezuela and Peru – recognizing their outstanding social ventures based on positive impact and financial sustainability. To date, more than $876,000 has been distributed to seed the most innovative and promising global ventures.
The St. Thomas Business Plan Competition is open to all St. Thomas students and recent alumni with plans for a new company that’s been incorporated for less than 12 months. The top two social ventures to compete in the Business Plan Competition advance to the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge.
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Meet the St. Thomas Finalists
B-Care Wood Pellets Beamlak Petros ‘26 & Zekidus Petros ‘24 A project addressing the energy and health constraints faced by women in Ethiopia as well as the ongoing practice of using firewood collected directly from forests to fuel household activities.
Chemco Georges Macheta ‘25 & Gabriel Riegert ‘25 Reclaims raw materials from lithium ion batteries in a sustainable and efficient manner, redirecting them from the landfills, rivers, and main ecological systems to tools for bettering the environment.
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FOWLER GLOBAL SOCIAL INNOVATION CHALLENGE (FGSIC) Meet the Finalists
Brown University
Soka University of America
A ML/DL-driven, point of care platform that obstetricians in any setting use to predict risk for complications of pregnancy (postpartum hemorrhage, c-section, eclampsia) as early as the 1st trimester, allowing doctors months to prepare in advance
Nutri-Win is a social enterprise committed to tackling the issue of protein malnutrition through the development and distribution of a highly nutritious cereal-based product.
Reetam Ganguli & Rishik Lad
Michael Dickson & Ephraem Okechukwu
University of St. Thomas A project addressing the energy and health constraints faced by women in Ethiopia as well as the ongoing practice of using firewood collected directly from forests to fuel household activities.
Beamlak Petros & Zekidus Petros
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FOWLER GLOBAL SOCIAL INNOVATION CHALLENGE (FGSIC) Meet the Finalists
University of San Diego
Heritage Christian College
The African Leadership University
Well-coordinated disaster relief operations require reliable communications, perimeter security, and area lighting.
An organic fertilizer made from welltreated human urine mixed with carbon materials.
A pioneering startup specializing in revolutionizing medical education through immersive virtual reality experiences.
David Bonyama-Zimbo, Emmanuel Mensah, & Rebecca Ocloo
Nwalahnjie Akumawah, Kenzo Niragire, Eseosa Kay-Uwagbeo, Isaac Rudasingwa, & Jean Robert Gatwaza
Jorge Muniz & Ethan Muniz
Universite de Sherbrooke
University of St. Thomas
An engineering project that aims to revolutionize commercial fishing methods. Our innovative solution is designed to uplift fishing nets, effectively putting an end to the catastrophic damage inflicted upon the fragile seabed.
Reclaims raw materials from lithium ion batteries in a sustainable and efficient manner, redirecting them from the landfills, rivers, and main ecological systems to tools for bettering the environment.
Chloe Duchesne & Christophe Roy
Georges Macheta & Gabriel Riegert
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IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Nwalahnije Anye Akumawah – AptXR – The African Leadership University
Ephraem Okechukwu – Nutri-Win – Soka University of America
Reetam Ganguli – Elythea – Brown University
Julien Lamarche – Aquarius – Universite de Sherbrooke
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IN THE NEWS
STUDENT SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS COMPETE, NETWORK AND LEARN AT ST. THOMAS JUNE 21, 2023 By The Newsroom
Thirty-one teams composed of 80 students from 22 universities and nine countries converged on the University of St. Thomas Minneapolis campus June 15-17 to win a share of more than $76,000 in seed funding at the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge (Fowler GSIC) Global Finals.
“The Schulze School of Entrepreneurship was incredibly honored to host this year’s Fowler GSIC. While hosting virtually in 2021 was a great experience, there is something special about having folks come together in person,” Director of the Institute for Social Innovation at St. Thomas Billy Mzenga said. In addition to pitching, students also attended informative workshops, visited local social impact businesses, and sampled a selection of treats from local food and drink social businesses while learning from their founders. 16 | FOWLER COMPETITIONS ANNUAL REPORT
This is the second time that St. Thomas has hosted the event, a joint venture with the University of San Diego (USD) designed to increase the scope and scale of social entrepreneurship ecosystem at their respective universities and beyond. The Schulze School of Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas and the Center for Peace and Commerce at USD alternate hosting the Global Finals each year. Each team in the multi-round competition leading up to the Global Finals engaged with one or more of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals, ranging from ending hunger by promoting sustainable agriculture to achieving gender equality, building resilient infrastructure, combating climate change, and providing access to justice for all. All global finalists placed among the top two teams at their respective universities.
Watch The Award Ceremony
IMPACT AND AWARDS BY THE NUMBERS
In Cash Awards
Countries
8 $76,000
Students
80 Majors
Judges
Teams
32 29
44
Universities
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PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Lea rni Conn ng and ecti wit h Ex ng pert s
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Student Experiences Socent Foodie Mixer
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a n a h t e r Mo h c t i P
n o i t i t e p Com
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Lunch with Twin Cities Entrepreneurs
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ALL SQUARE SITE VISIT All Square is a nonprofit social enterprise that channels wealth and power to those impacted by mass incarceration. This is done by investing in formerly incarcerated fellows and placing them on a pathway to start a business, pursue higher education, or enter the legal profession.
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FINNEGANS BREWERY SITE VISIT Finnegan’s Brewery’s mission is to turn beer into food. Every time someone purchases Finnegan’s beer, they are helping line food shelves with fresh produce from local growers.
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