Filtration systems that provide clean water in Ethiopia. Tracking bracelets to prevent child trafficking in Brazil. Miniature solar panels that fit onto window blinds. 

These are just some of the dozens of ideas presented by first-year “Introduction to Business” students in Bryant University’s annual Global Pitch competition, which marries ethical entrepreneurship to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals designated by the United Nations, which inform Bryant's general education curriculum, the Impact Core. 

“This is a celebration of your creativity, innovation, and the problem-solving skills you’ve developed throughout the semester,” says Todd Alessandri, Ph.D., dean of Bryant’s College of Business, as he opens the competition. 

“Relax,” adds Adam Rubin, a senior lecturer in the school’s Management department, addressing competitors dressed in their best business attire for the occasion. “You’re not being graded, so smile and enjoy this.”

The competition begins with a presentation called Bundles of Joy, where the student team outlines a proposal to partner with UNICEF to send care packages to Brazil to reduce infant mortality in alignment with UN sustainability goals two (Zero Hunger) and three (Good Health and Well Being). UN goal number five, Gender Equality, is the focus of a project devised by students Camdyn Bryant '28, Krista Kasbarian '28, and Ava Wasylow '28 to distribute tracking devices hidden in innocuous-looking bracelets to young girls to prevent them from being kidnapped by human traffickers.

One particularly well-conceived project would employ impoverished Brazilians to collect rubber, cloth, and plastic from garbage dumps in favelas to be recycled into shoes that can be sold for profit. The plan, envisioned as a partnership with Brazilian nonprofit BVRIO, would have the added benefit of helping to clean up the streets of Rio de Janeiro, meeting UN goals number nine (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).

After more than two hours of presentations, guest judges Arnell Milhouse, a Providence-based entrepreneur and startup funder, and Charlie Billard, president and CEO of the sales consulting firm Billard and Company, huddle for about 15 minutes in a conference room before emerging with their verdict. Empowerment Lebanon, a plan to deliver medical supplies and training in a war zone, finishes in third place; Clean Water Solutions, which aims to deliver drinking water filters to Ethiopia, takes second.

A dramatic pause precedes the judges’ announcement of the winner of the 2024 pitch competition, Coral Quest. Developed by Colin Krayeske ’28, Annabelle Keller ‘28, Sarina Sanders ‘28, and Alexa Marconti ‘28, the project envisions the restoration of coral reefs off the Gold Coast of Australia by partnering with hotels and travel companies to encourage scuba divers to replenish reefs with coral genetically engineered to resist high temperatures. The “dive for a difference” project would fulfill UN goal number 13 (Climate Action) and number 14 (Life Below Water).

“My hat goes off to the focus of these freshmen on the UN sustainability initiatives, because we need more successful entrepreneurs with good ideas and who want to do good, and not just monetarily."

“My hat goes off to the focus of these freshmen on the UN sustainability initiatives, because we need more successful entrepreneurs with good ideas and who want to do good, and not just monetarily,” says Milhouse, adding, “This competition demonstrates Bryant’s world-class leadership as an institution.”

Billard praises the thoroughness of the presentations, each of which included a detailed business plan with pricing and cost projections linked to the sustainability goals. 

“The way to be successful in business is to be in business, and the students really had to think this through,” he says.

Global Pitch competitor RJ Courmier ‘28 says the sustainability goals are a critical component of the project. “This is the only planet we have, so it’s important to build that into business,” he says. Joanna Conley, a sales representative for educational book publisher Pearson, which put up $1,500 in prize money for the competition, adds that the presentations “makes you very much aware of what’s happening globally.”

Mehreen Pasha, a Bryant Marketing and Management lecturer, says the teams each won their own in-class competitions to earn the right to compete in the final event. 

“This is the first competition for many of these students,” she says. “They’re only about 18 years old, but they’re very confident. It gets them into an entrepreneurial mindset from the beginning of their education.”

Tyler Griffin ’26, president of Bryant’s Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (CEO), says the group — which coordinates the competition — strives to bring in founders and leaders of companies to judge the event. 

“Especially as freshmen, it’s an opportunity to connect with people looking to hire right away and grow your network and career,” says Griffin. “I love when students keep it realistic, but the students who come up with big ideas that might not be as realistic — I think employers are looking for that creativity, too.”