Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology has been named Nairobi regional winner during this year's Hult Prize competition.
The project aims to make air purifiers that tackle indoor air pollution in houses, offices, cars, commercial buildings and factories. KLIND AIR among other regional winners are set to proceed to Boston and Massachusetts for the Accelerator Program, where global business leaders and mentors help forge a path for students to become entrepreneurs and support their development for life. Team KLIND AIR will be representing JOOUST, Kenya and Africa at large in the accelerator program at Boston, USA.
After 5-8 weeks of incubation in Boston, top 6 teams will pitch for USD 1 Million in startup funding at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Hult Prize is a global movement that crowd-sources ideas from University and College students by challenging them to solve a pressing social issue around topics such as: Food Security, Technology, Water Access, Energy, and Education. It is funded by the Hult family in partnership with the United Nations, Former US President Bill Clinton, Unicorn and other stakeholders. Each year, Bill Clinton is tasked with the responsibility of posing a new challenge for students to tackle innovatively.
The On Campus is a university-level program that provides a chance for students with innovative ideas to actualize them into start-up enterprises. JOOUST held its On Campus competition on 29th November 2019 at the Main Campus where 90 teams were registered out of which 40 teams confirmed participation on that day.
The University had three different teams competing against other teams globally in over 25 regions. Two of the University's teams KLIND AIR and SIKO FOOD were among the top 6 finalists in Nairobi and Santo Domingo regions respectively. The KLIND AIR project was awarded top position in Nairobi region during the final round of the competition. Four teams KLIND AIR, SIKO FOOD, NATIVE ENERGY and BONEBOARD proceeded to Nairobi and Santo Domingo Regionals, where SIKO FOOD and KLIND AIR were selected among the finalists.
The 3 winning teams then participate in the following regionals all over the world namely; Abuja, Accra, Amman, Beirut, Bogota, Boston, Cairo, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh, Kuala Lumpur, Lagos, London, Madrid, Manila, Melbourne, Mexico City, Mumbai, Nairobi, Oslo, Paris, Quito, Ramallah, San Francisco, Santo Domingo, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto and Tunis.