Judge’s quote: Professor Andrea Pfeifer, CEO, AC Immune “Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen is an audacious thinker guiding his company with a unique Humanitarian Entrepreneurship business model, whose ‘profit for a purpose’ approach has turned humanitarian responsibility into its core business. Mikkel innovates directly for the developing world and thinks of the user as a consumer and not a patient or victim. His disease control products and concepts have a tremendous impact in saving the lives of the poor and help revolutionising health management. His vision, work and positive business attitude make him an outstanding example of what The Economist’s Innovation Awards intend to recognise and encourage.”

Winner’s quote: Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, CEO of Vestergaard Frandsen S.A. “My involvement with this award began when I conceived of a campaign to offer bed nets for malaria prevention and water filters to prevent waterborne diseases as an incentive for participation in a voluntary HIV testing and counselling campaign, demonstrating that an integrated response to these humanitarian challenges is far more powerful than separate efforts. After fully funding the one-week campaign we built with our partners that reached 50,000 rural Kenyans, we oversaw scientific research documenting its scalability. Scientific papers will show the CarePack™ campaign can reach even larger numbers of people in a short period of time to maximise donor investments in global public health.”

Boilerplate Statements

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The Economist is published each Friday in the UK and is available from newsagents and on subscription. With four million readers from almost every country on the planet, and editorial offices on every continent, The Economist is truly a global publication. The paper includes sections on each international region, plus Science and Technology, Books and Arts, and the weekly obituary. For profiles of our journalists, please visit www.economist.com/mediadirectory/.

About The Economist Innovation Awards (www.economistinnovation.com)

The Economist was established in 1843 to take part in a "severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress". One of the chief ways in which intelligence presses forward is through innovation, which is now recognised as one of the most important contributors to economic growth. Innovation, in turn, depends on the creative individuals who dream up new ideas and turn them into reality. The Economist recognises these talented individuals through our annual Innovation Awards.

Tom Standage, The Economist’s Business Editor, talks about Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen’s winning entry:

http://www.economistconferences.co.uk/innovation/socialeconomicaward

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Twittter: @Economist_Innov (#ECIS09)

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