• Four companies have been selected from among over 70 initial entries to pitch at the final, which was attended by over 300 enthusiasts from the University of Oxford and the Oxfordshire investment community.The companies will pitch to distinguished panelists Sir Philip Green, Sir Victor Blank and Karl Peterson at the final of the competition which will be held at the Saïd Business School on May 11th 2011.
• Green & Grow has developed an environmentally friendly and cost-effective product based on biopolymers which, when added to water, enhances the yield of agricultural crops many times
• Off.Grid:Electric builds, owns and operates small-scale solar electricity generation and distribution stations serving populations and businesses that are not on national grids
• Contego, which offers automated fraud detection systems to publishers of online classified advertising
• TheySay, which utilizes research conducted by Oxford University’s Computer Science Department in the area of sentiment analysis in text

The annual competition is open to students and alumni of Saïd Business School, as well as members of Oxford Entrepreneurs who are University of Oxford students or alumni. The fund provides entrepreneurs with seed and early-stage capital for new ventures and to date has invested a total of £675,000 in five businesses. The Fund is student-led and provides students with the opportunity to experience investing first hand. In 2010/11, eleven students were recruited from the current class MBA and Executive MBA classes to serve on the investment committee that manages the Fund with support from the University and external advisors.