bold idea
Build a global network of village entrepreneurs who provide their communities with access to truly transformative technologies.
Personal Bio
In 2008, MIT mechanical engineer Jodie Wu returned from Tanzania frustrated that technologies weren’t reaching the people who needed them most—villagers. Determined to do something about it, Jodie founded Global Cycle Solutions, a social enterprise that develops and distributes life-changing technologies to bottom-of-the-pyramid customers. In 2009, GCS won the Development Track and Audience Choice Awards of the MIT $100K Business Plan Competition and placed second at Tanzania’s Nane Nane Agricultural Fair. Since graduating with B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 2009, Jodie has been living and working full-time in Arusha, Tanzania. Her company employs over 20 Tanzanians, includes a network of over 150 GCS village entrepreneurs, and has reached over 30,000 families. Jodie has also been recognized as a TEDGlobal Fellow, Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s America’s Most Promising Entrepreneurs, and Forbes’ 30 under 30.
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