By José Ángel de la Paz

A pizza shop striving to promote social change one slice at a time, a device designed to replace the cane and reduce the disadvantages suffered by the visually impaired, and biopolymers made from avocado seeds and used in disposable products and to promote responsible consumption, are all part of the 11 business innovation stories written by EGADE Business School students, which are now finalists for the 2020 Flourish Prizes.

This year, the Flourish Prizes feature a shortlist of 76 stories selected by an international jury from 824 stories published in 2019 on the AIM2Flourish website, which showcased business innovation models that promote each of the 17 UN Global Goals.

Overall, the selected stories were developed by students from 35 universities and business schools across 17 countries with the direction of 42 professors. The companies represented are located in 22 countries spanning more than 20 industries.

The stories written by EGADE Business School students and nominated as finalists are:

• Pizzeria Making Social Change One Slice at a Time, about Pixza in Mexico, written by Sandra Moreno, Tanya Lilian Ramírez Guzmán, Alicia Fernández and Mirelia Ríos, supervised by professor Consuelo García de la Torre.
   
• Inclusion Drives Innovation: Visual Disability and Autonomy,  about Strap Technologies in México, written by Héctor Serrano, Maryangel García Ramos, Emmanuel Martínezand Jorge Miguel Castañeda Himmelspach, supervised by  Fernanda Concha.
   
• Sustainable Biopolymers Made with Avocado Seed, about BIOFASE in México, written byJavier Flores, Francisco Ochoa Castillo, Javier Berecochea and Fernando Maldonado, supervised by Ezequiel Reficco.
   
• Making Quality Education Accessible to Everyone, about Kytabu in Kenia, written by Jesszika Udvari, Paul Gibson, Anuja Verma, and Manuel Abascal, supervised by Ezequiel Reficcoand Francisco Layrisse.
   
• Programando para el Futuro, about Laboratoria in México, written by Cesia de la Garza, Kristina Ayon, Lucero Muñoz and Ana Aguilar, supervised by Consuelo Garcia de la Torre.
   
• Sustainable Housing for All, about Casa para Ensamblar in México, written by Darío Genolet, Mariana Martínez Ramírez and Juan Carlos Flores Hesiquio, supervised by  Ezequiel Reficco.
   
• Energryn, Hybrid Technology, about Fricaeco América in México, written by Nelly Matzi Salas Flores, Moisés Carbajal, Vladimir Cruz and Gabriela Gavica, supervised by  Alejandro Ríos.
   
• Construyendo Contigo, about CEMEX in México, written by Juan Carlos Castro and Verónica Barroso, supervised by Martín H. Bremer.
   
• A TIREless Effort for a Brighter Future, about Mamut in Bolivia, written by Joseline Galindo, Manuel Morales, Mauricio Rubio and Lucía García, supervised by  Ezequiel Reficco.
   
• We Make Forestry Matter, about Proteak in México, written by Luis Evaristo Hinojosa Robles, Ricardo Ramírez Corona, Miguel Ángel Naranjo Carmona and Maribel Galindo, supervised by Christiane Molina.
   
• A Marketplace of Good Deeds, about BOP in México, written by Evelyn Garrido, Mario Luis González, Daniel Cajero and Elizabeth De León Salazar, supervised by Martin H. Bremer.

The winning stories of the 17 Flourish Prizes will be announced at the end of June.

This competition is organized every year by the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit, from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.