MEET THE BRIGHTEST IDEAS FOR ACCELERATING THE GREEN TRANSITION: THE FINALISTS OF THE 2021 WomenEntrepreneurs4Good
The 9 most promising green projects of the 1st edition of the WomenEntrepreneurs4Good have just been announced. The female founders behind them will be entering a 5-month journey with the HEC Incubator to boost their growth and amplify their positive impact.
An initiative to empower female entrepreneurs in the green transition
In partnership with Procter & Gamble and HEC Paris, the Women’s Forum launched WomenEntrepreneurs4Good in March 2021, amid the pandemic, to immediately support female entrepreneurs who are among the most critically affected by the current economic crisis and ultimately to foster female creativity and entrepreneurship for a greener and more sustainable future.
The idea is to use the international platform of the Women’s Forum “to implement concrete actions in support to such enterprises who have a role to play in the transition to a green economy” said Jamila Belabidi, Purchases Director at Procter & Gamble.
An incredibly talented group of female entrepreneurs
The initiative welcomed on board 200+ participants with 60+ projects after the first selection. From there, these female entrepreneurs participated in dedicated workshops led by HEC alumni, experienced three intense weeks of customer research, exploring the market demand for their products and services, and improving their business models. This was followed by two intense days of StartUp Design Sprint where they presented their research, listened, and learned from each other to innovate their business and build their pitch.
After going through the second selection by the Pre-Jury, 12 semi-finalists faced the 5 members of the Grand Jury in the final round. The Grand Jury, composed of prominent leaders in different sectors, had difficulty in evaluating because of the numerous great solutions presented, but ended up with the final selection of 9 new high potential projects from France, Italy and Germany to solve our sustainability challenges.
The Grand Jury members were proud to have met such an inspiring and engaged group of young female entrepreneurs. “I am honoured to have participated to the WomenEntrepreneurs4Good initiative as a Grand Jury member and have the opportunity to meet the participants to this first 2021 edition, an incredibly talented group of female entrepreneurs and deeply committed to tackling today’s challenges” said Audrey Tcherkoff, Managing Director of the Women’s Forum.
The next phase
From July to November, the finalists will attend a 5-month online incubator programme, receiving tailor-made business coaching, networking opportunities, technical support, connections, and access to an ecosystem of stakeholders and global partners with a variety of resources and business opportunities.
The Women’s Forum will accompany these talented female entrepreneurs until the end of their journey, and gather to celebrate their achievement at the graduation ceremony during the upcoming Women’s Forum Global Meeting in November!
More information about the Grand Jury and the finalists
VIP members of the Grand Jury
– Sandrine Chauvin, Director and Senior Managing Editor EMEA & Latin America, LinkedIn
– Imran Dassu, Partner, Kearney
– Eloic Peyrache, Dean and General Director, HEC Paris
– Fares Sayegh, Senior Vice President Supply Chain – Europe & Global Supply Network Operations, Procter & Gamble
– Audrey Tcherkoff, Managing Director, Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society
The finalists
BugSafe | Better Place to Live Challenge (FR)
Jungle Bike | Green Mobilities Challenge (FR)
Les Enfants Dehors | Farm to Fork Challenge (FR)
Loewi | Green Mobilities Challenge (FR)
Naturblatt | Plastic & Waste Management Challenge (DE)
Umains | Circular Economy Challenge (FR)
WeCo | 50L Home – Water Future Challenge (FR)
Yugen Earthside | Green Mobilities Challenge (FR)
Zerobarracento | Circular Economy Challenge (IT)
To discover more about their projects, click here