The founder of a social impact company bumping along the dusty roads of Rwanda in a truck mounted with speakers to beckon customers is not how most people picture Stanford MBAs spending their time after graduation. To draw attention to that less-covered aspect of the MBA experience, and to illuminate this growing business trend of socially responsible enterprises, we sent senior editor Steve Hawk to East Africa to write about alumnus Gayatri Datar, the founder of the company whose name adorns that truck.
From the Judges' Report
This story packed in just about everything a university publication could hope to accomplish—and was a great pleasure to read. It showed student impact. It showcased gender and cultural diversity in a meaningful way. It surprised and educated readers about the potential social impact a simple floor could have in impoverished countries. It also demonstrated how donor philanthropy supported this project/experience. And yet despite (because of?) those elements, this was among the most interesting stories in the judging pool. The thing that really set this story apart was the way in which it walked readers through the reasons why home flooring is so important to fighting disease and other problems in the developing world, taking us on a version of the same ah-ha journey that Datar herself traveled.
