Copenhagen MBA's enterprise nominated amongst hundreds

Copenhagen MBA alumnus Jack Langworthy's enterprise NINAYO is being selected out of hundreds of nominations for the Association of MBA’s (AMBA) MBA Entrepreneurial Venture Award. Jack is one of the six finalists up for this award and this is a magnificent achievement for the Copenhagen Business School Full-Time MBA graduate class of 2013.

Jack is the co-founder and CEO of NINAYO, a crowd-sourced market intelligence platform with a multi-million-dollar valuation. With NINAYO, Jack aims to revolutionize agriculture in Tanzania. In Tanzania, 80% of the workforce are independent farmers, but historically farmers and markets have been unable to communicate supply and demand effectively. As a consequence, 30% of food rots in Tanzania despite high demand. Launched in 2015, NINAYO lets farmers and markets advertise to one another, drop a GPS pin in a map, and connect online; improving ease of commerce and creating new business opportunities.

NINAYO was one of six startups selected to go through the Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator Expa Labs, where it received investment at a huge valuation and backing from Uber chairman and co-founder Garrett Camp. The mobile-friendly platform has over 7,500 active users. It’s even been endorsed in a speech by Barack Obama.

Crucially for Jack, it was the Copenhagen MBA’s Leadership Discovery Process – a unique personal development course which runs throughout the MBA program and touches on diverse topics like cognitive coaching, brain functions, and human understanding – that helped him become a better-rounded business leader. This has played a big role in his journey towards making his passion/dream of NINAYO a reality today.

NINAYO is providing access to over 16,000 tons of food and steadily growing at a quick month-on-month clip. Work continues with the UN, USAID and a host of smaller NGOs to connect new African farmers and markets. He travels back and forth between two worlds, East Africa and San Francisco, but relishes the opportunity to bridge the innovation of Silicon Valley with the opportunity in developing markets like Tanzania.

The MBA Entrepreneurial Venture Award is given to an entrepreneur who has launched an innovative and successful business in the past three years. The MBA Entrepreneurial Venture Award celebrates the achievements of successful alumni in trailblazing world-class business strategy, but also showcases the Business Schools that are nurturing the spirit of enterprise and ambition. There are three criteria for the nominations:

• The business must have been founded or co-founded by an MBA student/alumna/alumnus
• The business must have been operational (selling/trading) for a minimum period of six months and maximum of three years
• The business can be based on any legal activity

The winner will be announced at the Awards & Gala Dinner in London on 2 February 2018. The award will be presented in front of a prestigious gathering of business leaders, international Deans and Directors, distinguished MBA alumni and journalists. Congratulations & best of luck to Jack and NINAYO!