Waleed Ahmed, Hult International Business School student attracts worldwide acclaim after inventing a solar energy iPhone case

(LONDON - December 6, 2011) Twenty-year-old Waleed, a Norwegian, said he and a friend came up with the idea while sitting on a beach in Dubai. “We thought, now is the time to be environmentally friendly – why not make a solar cover that’s easier to use than the universal chargers we already have?”

The invention has already earned the pair more than US $2.07m, with revenues expected to reach US $10m later this year. The rewards are not only financial; Waleed has been tipped by Norwegian broadcasting giant NRK as ‘Norway’s Mark Zuckerberg’ and he has been honored by both the Crown Prince of Norway and the UN Foundation Board of Directors, which includes Queen Rania of Jordan and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Soon, Waleed will meet US President Obama at the White House. A special moment for Waleed, who is still studying for a Bachelor of International Business Administration at Hult’s London campus, as it was Obama who inspired him to change things for the better.

According to Waleed, the next step for the iPhone invention and his company Grønt Norge [Green Norway] is to expand globally. “We’re negotiating with Apple, selling it to Telenor (the world’s fifth-largest telecommunications company), and it will be available through AT&T very soon. The cases are already being sold in the Middle East.”

Mukul Kumar, Chief Academic Officer of Hult International Business School, said: “Waleed’s phenomenal success shows the strength of talent present in Hult's diverse student body. As a business school, one of our main goals is to inspire people to engage in entrepreneurship, and Waleed is definitely inspiring his classmates.”

Asked what advice he would give to students, Waleed said: “Work hard and never give up. Everything is possible. And if I can do it, then you can do it.”


霍特國際商學院學生發明太陽能充電式 iPhone 手機套

倫敦2011年12月6日電 -- 20歲的Waleed Ahmed是挪威人。他說，當他和他的一個朋友坐在迪拜的海灘上時，突然萌發了此創想。他說：「我們想，應該為保護環境做些什麼 -- 何不採用天陽能充電式機套？這比我們現有的通用充電器使用起來更方便。」

這項發明已為他和他的搭檔掙得了超過207萬美元,今年後期收益預計可達1000萬美元。回報不僅來自於金錢。Waleed被挪威廣播巨頭NRK喻為「挪威的馬克·扎克伯格」，並獲得了挪威王儲和聯合國基金會董事會董事，包括約旦王后拉尼婭和前聯合國秘書長安南的接見。

不久，Waleed將與美國總統奧巴馬在白宮會面，這對仍在霍特倫敦校區攻讀國際工商管理學士學位的Waleed來說這將是一個特別時刻，因為正是奧巴馬總統鼓勵他追求更好的改變。

據Waleed說，此項針對 iPhone 的發明和其公司 Gront Norge（綠色挪威）的下一步打算是在全球範圍內拓展業務。他說道：「我們正在與蘋果公司談判，將此發明出售給 Telenor（世界第五大電信公司），很快即可通過AT&T訂購此產品。這種手機套已經銷往中東地區。」

霍特國際商學院的首席學術主管Mukul Kumar說：「Waleed的非凡成功顯示出霍特多元化的學生群體中人才濟濟。作為一家商學院，我們的主要目標之一是激勵人們去創業， Waleed的成功一定會激勵他的同班同學。」

當問及會給他的同學什麼樣的建議， Waleed說：「刻苦學習，永不放棄。一切皆有可能。我能做到的，你們也一定能做到。」