Matt Flannery, co-founder, Kiva.org and founder, Branch International
"We can make a lot of progress for the world and in our personal lives through this vessel of social good.”

More than 100 aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs—students, faculty, researchers and staff from the UC Davis campus and beyond—joined with Davis and Sacramento area business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors at the 15th annual UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition Kickoff on October 27.

The five finalist teams in the 2015 UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition will pitch their ventures this Thursday, May 21, at an awards ceremony at the UC Davis Conference Center.

More than 50 teams representing over 150 aspiring entrepreneurs participated in the 15th annual competition. The contest provides workshops, mentorship, financing and networking to accelerate commercialization and advance the startup process, and is open to students, faculty, researchers and staff.

A team of our Business Development Fellows, UC Davis MBAs and their Zambian colleagues has built a company around simple technologies and practices that help farmers to avoid losses and grow more crops. Zasaka has taken off since winning both the People’s Choice award and the Ag and Food Innovation prize in last year’s Big Bang! Business Competition. Read the full article >

UC Davis is one of six recipients nationwide, and the only one in California, to receive a $1 million award in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration’s 2012 i6 Challenge Grant competition. Read the article >