Husk Power Systems Wins Cisco-DFJ Global Business Plan Competition
Cisco and leading global venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) announced Husk Power Systems as the winner of our first co-sponsored Global Business Plan Competition for university students this week.
Husk Power Systems designs and operates miniature power plants that convert rice husks into electricity, serving off-grid rural Indian villages. The team, whose members are University of Virginia, Darden School of Business 2009 graduates, will receive a $250,000 investment from DFJ and Cisco to help take the company to their next stage.
This is the first time the competition was aimed at a global market and hosted in six countries, a milestone made possible by both DFJ’s Global Network and Cisco TelePresence™. Sixteen finalist teams across the globe presented business plans from their local TelePresence suite to a panel of San Jose-based judges from DFJ and Cisco.
Cisco judge and vice president of corporate development, Hilton Romanski, said, “Given Cisco’s focus on emerging countries and the use of innovative technology to provide enhanced essential services, Cisco’s investment in Husk Power Systems is a great way for us to accelerate these themes.”
Check out what The Wall St. Journal had to say about the competition.
And here’s advice from Hilton for budding entrepreneurs thinking of entering next year’s competition:
Posted by Kristin Carvell at 02:20PM PST
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