GIPC 2024 Finalists
This spring, 43 students across 22 teams participated in the Landegger Program’s 6th Annual SFS Global Impact Pitch Competition (GIPC) at Georgetown University. GIPC is an innovative entrepreneurial event that serves the entire Georgetown student community and is led by Professor Dale Murphy and the IBD team. On April 19th, the six finalist teams pitched their entrepreneurial ideas to a panel of four distinguished judges.
The judges awarded $27,000 in seed funding to the six finalists. The 2024 top prize winner was CarematchMX, which connects Mexican women trained in senior care services with US families seeking caregivers, led by Gabriela Murcia (GHD ‘25) and Veronica Uribe (GHD ‘25).
Other finalists, who also received funding to kickstart their projects, included:
- People’s Choice Award (chosen by audience vote): Shanda Studios, which enables anyone to easily create and publish podcasts, empowering diverse voices to share their stories, led by Dumi Mabhena (MBA ‘24) and Paul Kassar (MBA ‘24).
- Sacar, a one-stop retailer for digital sustainability and conservation products, led by James Virgil (CLAS ‘24).
- Dyslex-Aid, which revolutionizes learning for dyslexics through AI diagnosis, tailored audio-visual aids, and enhanced digital reading, led by Riya Mittal (CCT ‘25).
- DiaFit, which leverages AI to affordably offer personalized diabetes management and community support to foster healthier lives, led by Gregory Levesque (BSFS ‘25).
- Eco-Fintech Solutions, a plastic consumption tracker app that aims to promote sustainable alternatives to reduce plastic usage for the user, led by Aya Takegami (BSFS ‘25).
Our distinguished panel of judges included:
- Greg Landegger (SFS ’93), angel investor, Vice President, Parsons & Whittemore, Inc., supporter of the Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy.
- Shavini Fernando (CCT ’19), 1st GIPC Winner; Founder and CEO, OxiWear.
- Rosie O’Neil (SFS ’83), Executive Career Coach and Consultant; Former IBD Deputy Director.
- Tami Stukey, Co-Founder, Octant Associates LLC and previously an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown.
The Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy is grateful for the School of Foreign Service and Citi Ventures support and funding of GIPC. Without them, it would not be possible to hold these groundbreaking and inspiring initiatives. We would like to thank all the judges for their encouragement, participation, and expertise in this process. Finally, we would also love to thank everyone who participated in this year’s GIPC for their hard work and dedication.