Four alumni ventures from distinctly different industries and geographies have been chosen to pitch at the 2017 alumni New Venture Competition on April 25 on the HBS campus. This year's finalists were selected from among 17 high-caliber teams from around the globe, representing a diverse array of industries, such as transportation, 3D printing, food, biotechnology, and more.

The final four are:

Apli: A Mexican talent agency that delivers qualified on-demand workers in 24 hours.
Alumna: Vera Makarov, MBA 2010
Region: Latin America

FreeFlow Medical Devices LLC: Maker of medical devices that solve clotting, infection, and clogging issues.
Alumnus: Andrew Jones, MBA 1997
Region: Mid-Atlantic US

Pawame: Making solar energy affordable in Africa through a microfinance approach using mobile payments.
Alumnus: Alexandre Skander Allegue, PLDA 18, 2015
Region: Africa

Vention: A platform that allows businesses to design and order industrial equipment online.
Alumnus: Etienne Lacroix, MBA 2011
Region: Canada

These teams will make their final pitches to a panel of judges on April 25 and a winner and crowd favorite will be picked at a live finals event that also includes four student and four social enterprise teams. The winner and runner-up in each category will receive $75,000 and $25,000 prizes respectively. The crowd favorite will receive $5,000.

The annual alumni New Venture Competition serves as a launch pad for innovative new ventures from HBS alumni, providing access and exposure to potential investors, mentors, and advisors. The annual event is sponsored by the Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and Alumni Clubs & Associations. The competition is open to alumni with early-stage ventures. This year, 171 teams applied through 16 alumni clubs in 14 regions around the world.

The other regional winners were:

Ava Health Technologies: Actionable, personalized health for brain disorders.
Alumna: Malekeh Amini, MBA 1995
Region: Northwestern US

Caribu: With Caribu, you're never really far apart.
Alumna: Maxeme Tuchman, MBA 2012
Region: Southeastern US

Dem Dx: A diagnostic support tool for health care professionals that augments clinical diagnoses.
Alumna: Lorin Gresser, MBA 1998
Region: Europe

EZNectar: EZNectar. EZ on your time. EZ on your conscience. For more hummingbirds!
Alumnus: David Hill, AMP 159, 2000
Region: Texas

Good Idea Foods: We make healthy snacks for everyone, not just foodies, health nuts or the well-to-do. Everyone.
Alumnus: Gordon Liao, MBA 2004
Region: Midwest/Central US

ivy maker: Play tech, have fun, fix application.
Alumna: Ying Zhang, MBA 2004
Region: Asia-Pacific

Panda Plates: A weekly subscription of healthy, yummy, and prepared meals designed just for kids.
Alumnus: David Parker, MBA 2009
Region: Northeastern US/New York

Pluma: Pluma is a mobile professional development and executive coaching platform for a new generation of leaders.
Alumna: Alexandra Connell, MBA 2011
Region: Northwestern US

Rejuvenate Bio: Extending the lives of the companions we love!
Alumnus: Daniel Oliver, MBA 2013
Region: New England

Secure Code Warrior: Welcome to the era of secure software development.
Alumnus: John Fitzgerald, MBA 1997
Region: Europe

Slurrp Farm: 100% honest yumminess. Slurrp Farm is founded by two mothers, for their children, and yours.
Alumna: Meghana Narayan, MBA 2007
Region: Southeast Asia & Middle East

Werk: Werk is a job platform on a mission: keeping women in the leadership pipeline. We are a new type of job marketplace that allows ambitious job seekers to discover and apply for career-building opportunities, all with pre-negotiated flexibility from our proprietary framework.
Alumna: Anna Auerbach, MBA 2010
Region: Northeastern US/New York

Xtelligent: Bridging today’s traffic signals to tomorrow’s connected and autonomous future.
Alumnus: Andrew Powch, MBA 2012
Region: Southwestern US

Learn more about the New Venture Competition, and see video pitches by each team.

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