MENLO PARK — On Sunday, Jan. 21, three winners of the 2024 Westly Prize for Young Social Innovators were announced, garnering each $40,000. Since the inception of the Westly Prize in 2012, The Westly Foundation has funded more than $1 million in Westly Prize awards to young innovators with early-stage, novel solutions to community and global challenges.
This year’s eight finalists, all in their twenties, emerged from a pool of nearly 100 California-based applicants. The finalists pitched to a panel of five judges at the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University on Sat., Jan. 20. The following three teams were named winners:
Beamlink, Compact cell towers for rural communities
Arpad Kovesdy & Mateo Abascal
Los Angeles-based Beamlink has created Bentocell to address the lack of cell service for 3.5 billion people globally. This technology impacts safety, education, healthcare, and equity in rural communities and disaster zones worldwide. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Maria’s devastation in 2017, USC alumni Arpad Kovesdy and Mateo Abascal identified the imperative to develop the Bentocell, an innovative, lunchbox-sized cell tower for swift deployment in internet-deprived communities.
At a 99% cost reduction, the Bentocell is the only patented cell tower globally operable that is independent of existing infrastructure.
Upon winning, Mateo Abascal, co-founder of Beamlink commented, “In an industry where young innovators are often overlooked, we constantly struggle to be taken seriously. The Westly Foundation’s mission and its emphasis on young social innovators is not only refreshing, but incredibly encouraging. We’re excited to leverage the experience and network of the Foundation alongside our own innovative spirit to further our impact.”
BIRTH BY US, A maternal health platform for women of color
Ijeoma Uche & Mercy Oladipo
Birth By Us addresses maternal health disparities by mitigating vulnerabilities for Black American women, who experience 3 to 4 times greater risk of childbirth mortality than their white peers.
Mercy-Oladipo (left) and Ijeoma present their project: Birth By Us. • Photo Credit: Jessica Garcia-Kohl
Ijeoma Uche, an alumna of U.C. Berkeley and Brown University, and Mercy Oladipo, an MIT alumna, have collaboratively merged Uche’s pre-medical and public health background with Oladipo’s computer engineering expertise to create a tool that effectively integrates medical research with Black-focused, patient-centered care.
Their united efforts strive to empower healthcare providers, delivering culturally competent and equitable support in maternal health throughout perinatal journeys.
Ijeoma and Mercy, co-founders of Birth by Us, shared that they “are honored and excited to join this amazing community of innovators committed to social change. We are so grateful to the Westly Prize for believing in our mission and helping us make pregnancy and postpartum safer for moms and babies everywhere.”
Mida, A cutting-edge translation app
Jason Lin, Scott Hickmann & Schwinn Saereesitthipitak
Developed by Stanford University students Jason Lin, Scott Hickmann, and Schwinn Saereesitthipitak, Mida has created an app that transforms communication for non-native English speakers into polished English.
With a user base of 5,000+ across 50+ countries, Mida seamlessly converts messages from hundreds of languages with unparalleled precision, even when dealing with mixed sentences.
Leveraging a custom version of OpenAI Whisper for transcription and an ensemble of large language models, Mida guarantees polished translations, prioritizing accuracy and cultural sensitivity.
Jason Lin, co-founder of Mida, noted “The Westly Prize’s goal to leverage social innovation to address societal challenges resonates deeply with us. To be named winners is an encouraging reaffirmation of the important work we are doing to bridge language barriers in hospitals, local communities, and beyond.”
Steve Westly and Anita Yu, co-founders of the Westly Prize, acknowledged this year’s Westly Prize cohort as one that equally encompassed strong technical skill and mission-driven impact. Yu conveyed, “After running the competition for more than a decade, we have enjoyed seeing the social entrepreneurs come up with transformative innovations impacting the world at large. We hope that the work we do here is instrumental to keep them going. Perhaps some day, ten to twenty years down the road, we can watch their success flourish and say, ‘We had a hand in that.’”
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Past Westly Prize Winners
Past Westly Prize awardees have gone on to receive widespread acclaim for their innovations and impact.
TIME recognized Westly Prize winner, Miranda Wang, as one of fifteen “change leaders” on its list of “Women Who Will Save the World” for her innovation, BioCellection. She is now co-founder and CEO of Novoloop.
Kiah Williams was featured on the TODAY show to explain how her innovation, SIRUM, has redistributed nearly $50 million in prescription drugs.
The Farmlink Project was named a CNN Hero and the 2023 Goalkeepers Global Award Winner.
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Silicon Valley’s Westly Foundation, founded in 2000 by Steve Westly and Anita Yu, operates from the premise that investment in our children and youth paves the way for success in the future.
The foundation works to improve the lives of at-risk children and youth in California and beyond.
TOP PHOTO: Westly Prize 2024 Winners • Photo Credit: Jessica Garcia-Kohl