Team ‘MINT’ reached the finals of the competition out of 45 teams with fintech proposal that would improve health care access in rural Nigeria.
Four Oxford MBA students reached the finals of the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) flagship Impact Investing Challenge.
Their winning proposal was a micro health insurance product that would also help fund solar-powered mobile clinics for rural Nigerian communities.
Team ‘MINT’ represented the University of Oxford and was comprised of Oxford Saïd Business School MBA students, Ifeoluwa Ogunbufunmi, Melina Langfritz, Chinonyelum (Nonye) David and Taanya Khare.
They emerged as one of the top three finalists, out of 180 participants.
Having come in the top three, Ifeoluwa who is Co-Chair of the Oxford Women in Leadership Alliance and a Laidlaw Scholar said:
‘With 180 participants and 45 proposals, it felt incredible to make it to be in the top three, representing the University of Oxford and the only school in European business school in this last stage. My team and I are thrilled to have learnt so much in such a short period.
This was a win not just for us as individuals, but also for Saïd Business School and the University of Oxford. It’s humbling to represent at such high levels and exciting at the same time. This experience is definitely a highlight of my MBA at Oxford.’
It proposed that Leadway Assurance, one of Nigeria’s leading insurance companies, enters a partnership with agency banking fintech companies including Nomba and TeamApt which are two Nigerian FinTechs that provide basic financial services to rural communities. The partnership would then provide solar-powered mobile clinics for rural Nigerian communities, and a micro health insurance scheme.
The team pooled their experience from their diverse backgrounds marrying it up with their shared passion for improving access to healthcare.
Taanya, who’s had a long-standing interest in impact investing said it was the perfect competition to channel her enthusiasm:
‘Being an impact investing nerd, I could not have chosen a better platform to learn and share our ideas as a team. I feel ecstatic having done so well. It was no mean feat to make it among 180 brilliant participants and showcase our work to the IFC team. It is the highlight of my MBA year for sure!’
For Ifeoluwa, it helped consolidate a budding interest:
‘Impact investing is a field I’ve been curious about since the start of the Oxford MBA, so trying out for IFC’s Impact Investing Challenge was an easy choice to make. I didn’t know just how well our team was going to work, we synchronised our ideas brilliantly.’
Team MINT got its name from taking the first letters of its members’ names. But the collaboration didn’t stop there with each of Team MINT crediting their success to their peers:
Praising her teammates, Ifeoluwa said:
‘I love my exceptional teammates! They’re sheer talent and very fun to work with. I keep meeting excellent and talented people on the Oxford MBA, and it reiterates why I came here in the first place.’
Melina added:
‘We leveraged each other’s strengths and complimented one another to develop an innovative idea. I feel very fortunate and grateful to be on this journey of continuous learning with such wonderful people!’
All team members credited the role of Oxford Saïd in helping drive their success.
Ifeoluwa states:
‘There’s nowhere else I would have found such a wide spectrum of talent to work with and have fun while doing expect at Oxford Saïd. My team and I are from Nigeria, Switzerland and India and we combined our expertise in FinTech, Law, Finance, Healthcare, and Impact Investing which made us thrive in the competition.’
Nonye summed up, saying:
‘Oxford Saïd has exposed me to the impact investing sector and the various opportunities there are for ventures that create sustainable impact. I have met amazing people on this journey, top among them have to be my fellow teammates, who are driven and passionate about their goals and for this I am super grateful.’