Oluwatosin Olagunju Wins Georgia State University's uVenture Social Challenge

2017 Jan 10

Oluwatosin Olagunju, of Macon, was on a team that won the uVenture Social Challenge at Georgia State University this fall, where Olagunju collaborated in creating a business model that could help make affordable housing attractive to real estate owners and investors.

For the uVenture Social Challenge, the university's Entrepreneurship & Innovation Institute teamed up with the university's Andrew Young School of Policy studies to host the competition alongside Star-C, an organization of real estate owners and investors who have developed a model for low-income housing.

Star-C's model offers affordable rent and after-school programs, healthcare services and a community garden.

The challenge to Georgia State students was to build a business model for Star-C's next apartment complex to make it attractive to potential investors, making the complex sustainable. The return-on-investment is not typically high for programs like these. However, a strong social benefit can offset the typically low return for investors.

The entire winning team consisted of Master of Public Administration students John Gunnells and Anna Sexton, alongside undergraduate real estate major Joshua Morton, and undergraduate managerial sciences student Oluwatosin Olagunju. The team took home a grand prize of $2,500.