Sixteen start-ups from across the globe with a mission to create positive change have been announced as finalists of The Venture, Chivas Regal’ search to find and support the most promising aspiring social entrepreneurs in the world.
The forward-thinking businesses, including Lumkani from South Africa, are competing to win a share of $1 million in funding from Chivas.
After receiving over 1 000 entries from five continents, Chivas has selected Lumkani as part of a diverse shortlist of 16 aspiring start-ups tackling a range of social and environmental issues. The finalists have been chosen to represent their local countries in The Venture global final, based not only on their potential to be profitable as a business, but also on their ability to offer scalable and sustainable impact solutions.
Each finalist has a truly unique story to tell about the inspiration for their startup.
“The devastating shack fires that took place on New Year’s Day 2013 in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, and displaced thousands of people was a catalyst for research and development that has brought us to create an affordable fire detection device to mitigate the loss of life and property,” said David Gluckman, co-founder of Lumkani.
“Enabling the growth of social entrepreneurs has become a key focus for Chivas Regal through The Venture campaign,” said Paul Scanlon, managing director of Pernod Ricard for South Africa and Namibia.
From 11 May to 14 June, Lumkani will go head to head with the rest of the finalists in a public vote, competing for an initial share of $250 000 (from the $1 million fund). People from across the world can view the finalist profiles and vote for their favourite at The Venture.
The competition will then culminate in San Francisco on 24 July when finalists pitch for the remaining share of the $1 million fund in front of an expert global judging panel.
Sonal Shah, former director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation in the White House under US President Barack Obama, is the latest judge to be announced alongside Adrian Grenier (actor, producer and social entrepreneur), Morgan Clendaniel (editor of Fast Company’s Co.Exist) and Alex Ricard (Pernod Ricard chairman and CEO).
In the week leading up to The Venture Final Pitch, the finalists will attend an Accelerator Week in Silicon Valley – the epicentre of the startup world – where they will receive mentorship from influential figures in social enterprise and companies such as Google, Duarte and IDEO.
via Design Indaba
