MBA's Take First Place in Africa Business Case Competition

A team of four MBAs recently won the inaugural Africa Business Plan Competition hosted by Knox Lawrence International (KLI), a New York private equity firm. Erb Institute students Tony Gross, Mike Hartley, Jeff LeBrun, and Ali Moazed won the competition by presenting the best business plan relating to the theme of Microfinance Applications in Sub-Saharan Africa. The competition was held at New York University's Stern School of Business and was judged by a panel of KLI Vice Presidents and distinguished Stern professors. The Michigan team faced tough competition from the best business schools around the country but ultimately bested projects from Berkeley's Haas School of Business (2nd place) and Columbia Business School (3rd place).

The Michigan team's idea, Mozergy, was sufficiently well-thought and innovative enough to win the judge's favor. The students combined their business acumen with socially responsible plans for the environment to create Mozergy. As Gross described it, "[The team's] business plan is to produce (in Mozambique) a high-yield energy crop called Jatropha and market the crude bio-oil we expel from the seeds of the Jatropha plant. The oil will serve as a primary input for biodiesel. The plan aims to address the problems of global warming, energy security, high oil prices, and the need for economic development in Africa." Mozergy received substantial support from the University, especially from faculty advisor at the SNRE Greg Keoleian, who advised the master's thesis from which Mozergy originated. Energy company BHP Billiton, the Erb Institute, and faculty member Gautum Kaul also supported Mozergy's efforts.

Mozergy team members reported that the competition itself was tough and intellectually demanding. Team member Mike Hartley said, "I knew we were on to something when our one hour meeting with Ken Globerman, a Vice President at Knox Lawrence International, ended up lasting for over three hours as Ken excitedly discussed the Mozergy business plan that we would submit for the semi-final round of the business plan competition. That initial meeting gave us a big jolt of energy to craft the business plan and presentation for our eventual win in the competition."

After being selected as semi-finalists off a business plan that was created in November, the team prepared for its presentation. The presentation went well and the business plan seemed well-received by judges. However, the judges asked many pointed questions about Mozergy that worried the team. Nevertheless, after lengthy deliberations, the judges rewarded Mozergy for the team's passion and candor in presenting its business plan. In recognition of its innovative idea and well-executed business plan, Mozergy received a check for $10,000 to help set-up their company.

From this point, Mozergy has a bright future. The Mozergy team is currently refining their plan to enter in business plan competitions at Berkeley's Haas School of Business and Rice University. Mozergy has also sought funding and grants from different bodies. Team members said the money will be used to fund an initial trip to Mozambique and also to help set-up the basic infrastructure for the company.

In addition from support from universities, KLI has offered to meet with the team in New York to develop and refine their business plan and actually put it into place. KLI's experience will provide Mozergy a solid foundation to develop into a profitable company built upon the principles of healthy governance and corporate social responsibility. Interestingly, Mozergy's efforts might bear fruit sooner than expected - the energy company Imperium Renewables has already expressed interest in purchasing the biofuel produced from the Jatropha plant.

Creating and pitching Mozergy's business plan was no doubt tough, and Mozergy is still far from becoming fully operational. Paul Kirsch, Program Manager for The Zell-Lurie Institute, summed up the team's accomplishments by saying, "Their plan demonstrates excellent work by the team, but more importantly, it has real potential to positively impact an impoverished population. The four-person team put in a lot of work on the project.We hope that this proposed business will be started to significantly benefit people in Mozambique.