After a high-staked pitch in front of a high profile panel including Oscar-winning actress, philanthropist and businesswoman, Halle Berry, Chioma Ukonu, COO, RecyclePoints, an incentive-based recycling scheme, has emerged as the first runner-up at The Chivas Venture competition held in the US last week.
The Chivas Venture, the brand’s global search for the world’s most promising social entrepreneurs, rewarded all five finalists with the remaining share of the $1 million fund at the final pitch event on Thursday evening. The announcement came after the five finalists pitched the potential of their start-up to create transformative social change to an expert-judging panel that included the chairman of Pernod Ricard, Alex Ricard.
Peetachai Dejkraisak of Siam Organic was awarded the largest share of the fund, receiving $400,000 for his venture while Nigeria’s Chioma Ukonu smiled home with $200,000.
Other finalists that came away with funding on the night included Bioestibas ($50,000) from Colombia, a company that produces ecological stowage made with flower waste, that would normally be polluting the environment; I-Drop Water ($50,000) from South Africa who install purification and dispensing units at the point of sale, and Intendu ($50,000) from Israel, for developing a videogame platform specifically designed for brain training.
Speaking about her win, Ukonu said: “I am extremely thankful and grateful for this opportunity and the support of the Chivas team in Nigeria, the public for their efforts in securing me the additional funds. When we entered this competition, our dream was to win enough in funding to roll out this business model in other parts of Nigeria and with this funding, we are able to do just that quicker.”