LEDSafari finalist of Forbes Social Entrepreneurs Competition

More than 2,500 young social entrepreneurs from around the world entered the Change the World competition and of those, 915 quarter-finalists completed an extensive long-form application. Of these social enterprises, for-profit business models were most represented, (42 percent), followed by hybrid business models with donated and earned revenue, (28 percent), and nonprofit business models (30 percent). Six finalists were selected and include:

Govinda Upadhyay, LEDsafari: Upadhyay, age 27, founded LEDsafari, a Switzerland-based organization which provides low cost solar LED lamp kits for secondary school students in un-electrified areas of developing countries, enabling children to make and use their own lamps. LEDsafari’s instructions allow for the complete understanding of the physics behind the circuit and the design process. As the penetration of smartphones is increasing, LEDsafari is developing an app that students can use to measure their own impact.

The other finalists are all based in the U.S. and include Amara Humphry of Gooru, Kiah Williams of SIRUM, Daniel Yu of Reliefwatch, Paul Duan of Bayes Impact, and Heather Concannon and Elizabeth Nguyen of Unitarian Universalist Community Cooperatives

“These young superstars were chosen as finalists in this historic competition because they have the ability to solve problems, scale solutions and change the world,” said Randall Lane, Editor of Forbes magazine, who oversees the Forbes Under 30 Summit and The Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy.

The six finalists will compete on the main stage at Forbes’ second Under 30 Summit, from Oct 4-7, 2015 in Philadelphia, which is expected to bring together nearly 2,000 of America’s most transformational young entrepreneurs and game changers. Five of the finalists will each win $100,000, and the overall winner will receive a $500,000 award. The competition focuses on disruptive and scalable ideas with the potential to change the world. McKinsey & Company will facilitate the Impact Lab for the finalists.

The Forbes Under 30 Summit is an extension of Forbes magazine’s annual 30 Under 30 list – which features 30 game-changing entrepreneurs under 30, 600 millennials, in 20 fields, as judged by some of the greatest minds in each category. Attendees of the summit will be selected from the past four years of this list, which has become one of the magazine’s most popular franchises.