Hult Prize Winners

Each of these amazing teams stood out amongst thousands of their peers to be named Hult Prize Winners. Their work is a testament to the power youth possesses to make the world a better place. We are so proud of them and cannot wait to see the impact they continue to make in the world.

Hult Prize 2023 Winners

2023 Hult Prize Winner

Banofi Leather, Yale University. Banofi Leather takes banana crop waste and converts it into plant-based leather that is vegan, sustainable and cruelty-free. We are a B2B social enterprise focused on supplying global fashion houses with leather alternatives that result in tremendous climate impacts. Compared to animal leather, our patent-pending process reduces water usage by 95%, carbon emissions by 90%, and completely eliminates toxic waste. Local farmers typically burn or dump banana crop waste. Sourcing our inputs boosts their household income by 30%. Our materials are PETA Vegan-certified and meet non-toxic industry standards: REACH (EU) and CAL PROP (California). Over 30 brands are actively sampling and buying our material. We’ve sold 400+ proof-of-concept Banofi leather notebooks, demonstrating durability and quality, and are the cusp of scaling this novel technology. Banofi is ripe to propel sustainable materials in the fashion industry.

2023 Hult Prize Winner

Winning speech

from Banofi Leather
Learn more about Banofi Leather
2023 Hult Prize Winners with Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney & Hult Prize CEO Lori van Dam

with our 2023 Winners

2022 Hult Prize Winner

EcoBana, 2022 Hult Prize Winner from St. Paul's University in Limuru, Kenya. Social enterprise that is getting people back to work, with an aim to stop plastic manufacturing in sanitary towels and to manufacture biodegradable sanitary pads to end period poverty Using the concept of green and circular economy to manufacture biodegradable sanitary pads using banana fibers, to stop plastic manufacturing in sanitary towels and to embrace organic and natural solutions through capacity building and Sanitary pads manufacturing.

Eco-Bana_HultPrize

Winning team EcoBana

The exciting moment on the 2022 Global Finals in New York City
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Eco-Bana_HultPrize

Secretary Martin J. Walsh & Hult Prize CEO Lori van Dam

With EcoBana team during the announcement

2021 Hult Prize Winners

Last year, the Hult Prize challenged students to rethink our broken food systems by transforming food into a vehicle for change. Each of the seven teams below were selected as 2021 Hult Prize Winners.

Chilk

Chilk

Making the best tasting, most functional, and "coolest" alternative dairy in the world.
Ecospire

Ecospire

Utilizing food waste to bring you eco-friendly and cheap paper products without cutting down a single tree.
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MotherBud

Motherbud

A mushroom cultivation network for the bio-economic empowerment of women in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Propel Foods

Propel Foods

Repurposing invasive species and plants to create modern foods for the modern diet.
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ReMango

ReMango

Combatting food waste by collecting, processing, and selling mango products in Paraguay.
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SiembraCo

SiembraCo

Using technology to connect farmers to customers and implement sustainable farming practices.
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UpRoot

UpRoot

Turning wasted cassava into a high-quality, biodegradable alternative to single-use plastics.
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Previous Winners

Meet the teams who have won the Hult Prize over the past decade.

2020 Cohort

2020: Hult Prize Winners

In 2020, for the first time ever, we selected eleven different teams as Hult Prize winners, rather than one.
Read about each team
win

2019: Rutopia

Regenerating nature and culture through socially inclusive and economically-just tourism.
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Rice Inc

2018: Rice Inc.

A social impact rice brand combating world hunger and alleviating poverty. Now known as paddi!
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Roshni Rides

2017: Roshni Rides

Carpooling platform providing services tailor-made for women and children.
Buupass

2016: BuuPass

Kenya’s largest online bus, train and flight ticketing platform.
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Impct

2015: IMPCT

Sourcing coffee from vulnerable communities and re-investing their profits into those same communities.
Nano Health

2014: Nano Health

Building solutions to efficiently diagnose non-communicable diseases at scale.
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Aspire

2013: Aspire Food Group

Pioneering sustainable insect agriculture practices to address food insecurity and climate change.
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SM1

2012: SolarAid [SunnyMoney]

Eliminating the use of kerosene lamps by distributing solar lights to communities in Africa.
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mPaani

2011: m.Paani

Partnering with Water.org to crowdfund clean water projects.
1Laptop

2010: One Laptop Per Child

Providing educational opportunities to the world's poorest children with an affordable laptop.
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