College of Business students inspire global change as feature speakers at Global Action Summit
Grace Mestad |
Each year the Global Action Platform invites aspiring entrepreneurs to come together and present ideas they have to create global impact through its Fellows program at Vanderbilt University. This year, three of Lipscomb’s College of Business students were invited to speak at the Fellows Orientation on Tuesday, Nov. 14, as part of the Global Action Summit.
Luke Benda, a senior entrepreneurship and financial markets major; Angad Madra, a senior corporate management major; and Alexandria Arnette, a senior corporate management and social entrepreneurship major were chosen to be the feature speakers for the event by Rob Touchstone, director of the center for Business as Mission and co-owner of The Well Coffee house.
“These three are some of the best examples we have of current students who have already been successful in business as mission efforts,” said Touchstone. “They represent Lipscomb and our College of Business in a way that makes us all very proud. They not only have business ideas, but they have turned these ideas into realities. Even more reason to be proud, all three are using business as strategy to create global change that is making a sustainable impact in areas of need.”
All three students were given the opportunity to present their business to the students and business leaders attending the Fellows Orientation.
Benda presented his vision for a business he started with a team of Lipscomb students called Ed. Pack Global, a backpack company in the early startup phase. Ed. Pack Global will launch in January and will give a portion of its profits to provide for educational needs for women in developing countries. Ed. Pack Global was also the winner of last year’s Kittrell Pitch in Lipscomb’s College of Business, which awards the top entrepreneurial ideas a $10,000 prize.
Madra presented his vision for a business he started in his intro to Entrepreneurship class, called Indian Tea. This business features an Indian recipe that Angad learned from his mother growing up in India. Angad’s business made over $1,000 in profits that he donated to The Well, which in turn was enough money to help drill a well in Togo, Africa, providing clean water for over 150 people.
Arnette focused on her work in Lipscomb’s new Center for Business as Mission in the College of Business. She specifically focused on how she has helped three Jamaicans work toward breaking the cycle of poverty by starting businesses. Alexandria has been a key leader in working with aspiring entrepreneurs to help open Borris’ Back Yaad Restaurant, Marcia’s Cookshp and A.R.T.S. by Chris, three businesses in Morant Bay, Jamaica, in the poorest parish in the country.
The Global Action Summit seeks to build a united effort to address global needs as they relate to food, health and economic development as well as develop future leaders. Any college student who has ideas on ways to create global change is invited to attend the annual Fellows Orientation hosted each November at Vanderbilt University.
For more information on the Global Action Summit or Lipscomb’s College of Business visit: http://globalactionplatform.org/pages/view/fellows or www.lipscomb.edu/business