Following the inaugural Australian final of The Venture, Pollinate Energy has been named as the Australian winner and will join the top 28 start-ups from across the world.
The crew will form part of Chivas Regal’s global search to find and support the most promising social entrepreneurs who aim to succeed in business, whilst having a positive impact on the lives of others.
The culmination of the Australian leg of the initiative saw the five finalists present their enterprises to a panel of expert judges at Sydney’s Ambush Gallery on Tuesday night in the hope of moving on to the global stage and one step closer to the $1 million worth of funding on offer.
In the end, Pollinate Energy was chosen to progress and will now represent Australia at the global final in New York in June 2016. During the event, the global top 28 will have the chance to pitch in front of an expert panel of judges who are looking for businesses that can offer scalable and sustainable solutions to real world issues.
Pollinate Energy, providers of solar lighting to over 54,000 of India’s most deprived urban slum dwellers will now have the opportunity to expand into more cities globally.
Pollinate Energy co-founder Emma Colenbrander said, “We’re excited about what this funding would allow us to do and the number of people we would be able to help. We’d like to thank Chivas Regal for their support and for giving Pollinate Energy this opportunity.”
Milk & Co CEO and co-founder, and judge for the evening Michael Klim, said, “All five of the judges were inspired by Emma and Pollinate Energy’s potential.
“The scalability, health, economic and environmental benefits of Pollinate Energy really hit home and the business embodies what The Venture is about, bringing a strong socially minded business solution to a real world issue.”
Chivas Regal Australia marketing director Anne Martin added, “I’d like to congratulate all of the finalists and of course, Pollinate Energy for what was an inspiring evening for our first ever Australian final.
“We’ve searched the country for social entrepreneurs who have the passion and drive to succeed in business the right way and we want to support enterprises likePollinate Energy who do just that. We wish Emma and her team all the best in the global final.”
On offer beyond the monetary support is the opportunity for Pollinate Energy to take part in The Venture’s Accelerator Week hosted at University of Oxford by The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. Here they will be taken through an inspirational and transformative programme featuring opportunities to develop leadership skills, take part in practical workshops and be inspired by global experts on critical topics that affect social enterprises.
