There’s no question the projects of the finalists of the sixth annual John P. McNulty Prize are impressive and admirable. But special attention is paid when former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says something is a “big deal.” And with 350 leaders from around the world in the room, that’s just what happened at the July 31rst awards dinner for the four McNulty finalists in Aspen, CO during the Aspen Leaders Action Forum. The video above shows Albright’s introduction of the finalists, and their explanations of their projects.
The winning projects — with each finalist receiving $10,000 to further these intiatives — are wide-ranging and touch on economics, the environment and agriculture:
WILLIAM BYNUM, Hope Credit Union, Mid-South, USA: Making financial services more available to underserved inner-city small businesses and rural communities
MANOJ KUMAR, Araku Originals, LTD, India: Improving the economic conditions of Indian farmers
ADAM LOWRY, Ocean Plastic Project, San Francisco, CA: Pioneering new methods of recycling plastic from the ocean
CHINWE ONYEAGORO, Fundwell, San Francisco, CA: Connecting under-served business owners with lenders locally and nationwide and improve their financial health
Before this year’s finalists were announced at the dinner, winners from the last five years took to the stage to share their experiences working on their projects, an update on their progress since winning the McNulty Prize, and their advice to this year’s finalists:
