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Over the past three years, the Hult Prize has taken on some of the planet's toughest challenges. These have included Education, Energy, Housing, and Water. For the 2013 Prize, President Clinton has personally selected the challenge: the Global Food Crisis.

A detailed case study, narrated by President Bill Clinton, will be released to all selected participants in early January to set the framework for this year's challenge. Competitors will then be asked to develop social enterprises that answer the President's Challenge.

The global food crisis can be approached through multiple lenses, such as: distribution, manufacturing, production, technology and many others. Each, represents an opportunity for innovation. Nearly 1 Billion people in the World are Hungry, that is over 1 out of every 4 children. Ironically, our global economy produces enough food each year to feed everyone, however more than one-third of the food generated for human consumption continues to be lost or wasted.

College and university students from around the world are being called to action to compete in one of five regional rounds of competition held in: Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai and Shanghai. Teams of 4-5 students will be charged with developing ideas for social enterprises that can conquer one of modern day’s most solvable global challenges - the food crisis. The global winner will receive US$1,000,000 in start-up capital to launch their new social enterprise!

Facts:

1) One out of every four children in the world are hungry even though our global economy produces enough food to feed everyone. In total, nearly one billion people in the world are hungry and suffer from malnutrition.

2) The world produces enough food to feed everyone, however more than one-third of the food generated for human consumption is lost or wasted.

3) There are more hungry people in the world, then the combined population of the US, Canada and EU.

4) A poor family in a poor country spends over 70% of its income on food, leaving very little to spend on energy, education, housing, healthcare and other critical needs.

5) Hunger is one of the world's most solvable challenges.

6) The global food system needs to be redesigned to yield more, healthier food, while reducing cost and ecological footprint.

7) New business models are required around food security that can yield greater access to markets, new approaches to distribution, and local sourcing bolster food quality and workers’ livelihoods, while reducing waste and improving resilience to extreme conditions.

8) The current food system is not sustainable. Global food demand is expected to double in the next 25 to 50 years. Current modes of production and patterns of consumption are not sustainable and can not meet this demand. Existing business models must change to ensure global food security.

9) Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of the world’s use of increasingly scarce water supplies, and deforestation for food production generates more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation combined.