One fashion project is among the winners of Chivas' The Venture 2016

Eva Longoria and Trevor Noah announce winners of $1 million fund to help change the world

The Venture, luxury whisky Chivas Regal's search to find and support the most innovative startups from across the world, rewarded five social enterprises in New York City earlier this month. The winners were announced after five grand finalists pitched in front of a live audience and judging panel that included actress and philanthropist Eva Longoria.

Finalists Maria Pacheco, Kenny Ewan, Or Retzkin, Julia Romer and Oscar Andres Mendez with judges
Eva Longoria, Joe Huff, Sonal Shah and Alexandre Ricard

Finalists Maria Pacheco, Kenny Ewan, Or Retzkin, Julia Romer and Oscar Andres Mendez with judges
Eva Longoria, Joe Huff, Sonal Shah and Alexandre Ricard

The event was the culmination of the second year of Chivas' The Venture, which received over 2,500 applications from scalable and sustainable social entrepreneurs. The evening was hosted by The Daily Show presenter, Trevor Noah who applauded all five entrepreneurs that pitched on their commitment to using business as a force for good. The judging panel which included Eva Longoria, Sonal Shah, Joe Huff and Alexandre Ricard, assessed each business based on their ability to create sustainable change through a viable business model and potential to scale.

(L-R) Finalists Oscar Andres Mendez, Julia Romer, Or Retzkin, Maria Pacheco and Kenny Ewan

(L-R) Oscar Andres Mendez, Kenny Ewan, Julia Romer, Eva Longoria, Or Retzkin and Maria Pacheco

Social startup Conceptos Plásticos from Colombia was awarded the largest contribution from The Venture fund, receiving $300,000. Focusing on transforming plastic waste into construction material for permanent housing, Conceptos Plásticos creates much needed building materials for communities to establish a physical infrastructure.

The additional finalists to receive funding and recognition were; WeFarm ($200k) - a pioneering knowledge-sharing platform for small scale farmers, EyeControl ($100k) - a mobile communication device for "locked-in" patients, Wakami ($100k) - producer of handmade fashion accessories that support community businesses across Guatemala, and Coolar ($50k) - an innovative healthcare cooling system enabling doctors to preserve lifesaving medicine in off-grid regions.

Oscar Andres Mendez

Eva Longoria congratulated each of the winners on the night:

'I was really inspired by the finalists tonight - I'm so grateful there are people in the world who can figure out solutions to complex global problems. We all live in a global community and I absolutely believe social entrepreneurship is the only way we can create positive change. The caliber of the 27 finalists, their business ideas and fresh thinking was amazing'.

Trevor Noah and Eva Longoria

Chivas' The Venture launched in September 2014 and has already seen the 16 finalists from the first year of the competition thrive and have an increased impact on a range of social and environmental issues. The 16 Alumni social enterprises are now supporting more than 200,000 beneficiaries in over 50 countries around the world.

Continuing Chivas' commitment to inspire and support future generations of entrepreneurs, social enterprises from across the world are invited to apply for $1 million in funding as The Venture Year 3 kicks off from 5th September 2016.

Source: image.net