GIPC 2026 Finalists

In Spring 2026, 29 teams participated in the 8th Annual Global Impact Pitch Competition. GIPC is an innovative entrepreneurship event that serves the entire Georgetown student community and is led by Professor Dale Murphy and the IBD team. On April 17th, the six finalists pitched their ventures to our panel of three distinguished judges.

The judges award $20,000 of seed funding to the six finalists. The top prize of $6,000 went to VAMP, a venture aiming to make the blood donation process simple, social, and rewarding for students, filling a critical gap in blood donation and saving lives. VAMP was pitched to our judges by Ahlay Hussain (Med ’27) with support from Faysal Alameddine (SOH ’28), Will Moles (COL ’27), and Cait Donohue (SOH ’28).

The other finalists that recieved funding to kickstart their projects included:

• People’s Choice Award (chosen by the Audience): Parisbus Ag — Developing Nitrogen-fixing food-crops via protoplast fusion. Crops have lower fertilizer demands and lower costs of production, led by Aidan Pomerantz (SFS ’26).
• LetsConnect — Helping seniors globally with patient and personalized multilingual tech support–bridging borders and generations, led by Elaine Chu (MSB ’29).
• Stratagem — A digital platform where young minds can explore and challenge conventional thinking in international affairs, lead by Leighton Farrel (SFS ’26) and Xander Farrington (SFS ’28).
• Lentil — Light, high-protein lentil snacks that support sustainable farming and women-led supply chains, led by Julia Revill (SFS ’27).
• Zyp — The operating system for global outsourcing firms, providing payments, financing, and growth tools in one platform, led by Carson Belaire (MSB ’27).

Our panel of judges included:

• Ekin Birol: Associate Professor of the Practice of Development to the Global Human Development program at Georgetown’s SFS
• Valla Vakili (SFS ’95): Builder of New Markets and Businesses | AI, Platforms, and Partnerships | Visa, Citi Ventures, Yahoo
• Eddie Deschapelles (SFS/IBD ’82): Investment and Finance Expert, IBD Professor of the Practice

The Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy is grateful to the School of Foreign Service and our donors. Without them, it would not be possible to hold these groundbreaking and inspiring initiatives. We thank all the judges for their insights, assessments, and encouragements in this process.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s GIPC for their hard work and dedication.