From the Series
Sixteen startups from across the globe with a mission to create positive change have been announced as finalists of The Venture, Chivas Regal’s 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 startups 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.
We are really excited to have Lumkani representing South Africa on a global stage and we urge fellow South Africans to vote for Lumkani’s life-saving initiative.
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.
The Finalists
MGov (Brazil)
Founder: Guilherme Finkelfarb Lichand
MGov is a consulting firm that specialises in public policy management and social impact. It uses mobile technology to better understand the demand for, and evaluation of, public services by speaking to those that they affect most: the people who use them.
Arthesis (Bulgaria)
Founder: Demir Tonchev
Arthesis creates beautiful prosthetic covers for leg amputees who want to express themselves boldly and creatively. An Arthesis cover weighs about 250 grams, which makes it very convenient to wear.
Algramo (Chile)
Founder: Jose Manuel Moller
Affordable food is hard to come by on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. There are few supermarkets and the produce at small stores can often be up to 40% more expensive than in larger outlets. To address this issue, Algramo buys essential products, such as rice, beans, lentils and sugar, in bulk from suppliers and distributes them directly to small convenience stores through its unique mechanical dispensers.
Coolpeds (China)
Founder: Tony Chan
Coolpeds’ mission is to offer an innovative, compact and eco-friendly way to travel, which not only helps people get around efficiently but also improves local communities by reducing pollution and congestion. It has designed and manufactured the lightest electric transporters in the world. Its scooters are foldable, produce zero emission and can even charge your phone.
Diseclar (Columbia)
Founder: Juan Nicolas Suarez Bonilla
Where others see rubbish, garbage and waste, Diseclar sees furniture. Thanks to its inventive manufacturing process, it is able to turn waste materials into stylish furniture that can be used in- and outdoors.
Conuco Solar (Dominican Republic)
Founder: Raul Aguayo
Many people don’t have the space in their home or place of business to have their own solar panels installed. Conuco Solar will ensure that anyone can still have access to clean, renewable energy by essentially renting space at its solar farm, rather than having to set up their panels at home or their business where space may be limited.
Dumyé (Gulf)
Sahar Wahbeh
Dumyé handcrafts personalised cloth dolls and, for every doll it sells, it gives one to an orphan to make their own through an art workshop. It works to bring love and light into the lives of both children and those who have not been spoken for.
Diamond Cab (Hong Kong)
Founder: Doris Leung
Diamond Cab is the first ever barrier-free taxi service in Hong Kong. Its vision is to provide a safe, accessible service that makes it easy for a previously marginalised and vulnerable group of people to interact with the world, while also being a driving force to promote genuine social progress in our society.
SenSprout (Japan)
Founder: Yoshihiro Kawahara
SenSprout’s mission is to make farming more efficient by producing more crops using less water. It helps farmers better understand their crops and fields with its low-cost sensor technology. Its wireless field-monitoring system is enabled by a unique “printed electronics” sensor, making it possible to monitor soil conditions and environmental information in real time.
¡Échale! a Tu Casa Mexico (Mexico)
Founder: Francesco Piazzesi
Lack of affordable housing is a social problem, so this startup has come up with a model that makes the community part of the solution. It aims to provide at-risk families across Mexico with ecological, affordable housing by helping them build their own.
Lumkani (South Africa)
Founder: David Gluckman
Lumkani uses technology to decrease the risk of devastating fires in informal settlements. Its innovative fire detector was designed to mitigate the loss of life and property caused by the spread of shack fires.
Socialgiver (Thailand)
Founder: Aliza Napartivaumnuay
Socialgiver is a lifestyle website with a social twist. It offers handpicked services and experiences, such as hotel deals, gift-cards for restaurants and tickets for events from leading brands at exclusive rates. For every purchase, 70% goes directly to support social projects of the buyer’s choice and 30% helps grow the Socialgiver community.
Two Fingers Brewing Co. (UK)
Founder: Will Waldron
Two Fingers Brewing Co. is a beer brand that gives back to those that drink it by giving all its profits to Prostate Cancer UK. Using the finest handpicked ingredients, it create beer that's not just better tasting, but better for men everywhere.
Line 24 (Ukraine)
Founder: Victoria Alonsoperez
Chipsafer is a platform that will transform the way farmers care for their livestock. It not only tracks and detects anomalies in cattle behaviour, but does so remotely, autonomously and in real-time. Chipsafer then sends all this information directly to the farmer, who can access it on a laptop or phone.
Vendedy (US)
Founder: Christine Souffrant
Vendedy is a social enterprise startup that is digitising the street vendor industry via mobile technology. For the first time, street vendors can upload photos of their products online via mobile devices so that a travelling consumer can search, purchase, and pay for an item via SMS.
To find out more and vote for your finalist, visit The Venture.
The Venture
The Venture is Chivas’ global search to find and support the most promising aspiring social entrepreneurs who want to succeed while making a positive impact on the lives of others. With over $1 million in funding and resources, The Venture will enable social entrepreneurs from around the world realise their potential and gain business exposure.
Win the Right Way
Win the Right Way aims to inspire a new generation to achieve success while making a positive impact on the lives of others, and is the latest instalment of Chivas Regal’s Live with Chivalry campaign, which launched in 2008.
Live with Chivalry
Chivas’ Live with Chivalry campaign launched in 2008 and has since inspired modern gentlemen in more than 60 countries around the world to succeed in the right way.
Win the Right Way is the latest instalment of the Live with Chivalry campaign. It communicates Chivas Regal’s brand values, and aims to inspire a new generation to achieve success while making a positive impact on the lives of others.
About Chivas Regal
Chivas Regal is a truly global brand, selling 4.6 million ninr-litre cases annually in more than 150 countries throughout Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas. The Chivas Regal range is the epitome of style, substance and exclusivity, and includes Chivas Regal 12, 18 and 25 Year Old.
