Avengers Star Zoe Saldana Promotes Social Startups at Final of Chivas Venture
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Actress, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Zoe Saldana were in Amsterdam to help select the winner of the 2019 Chivas Venture – a social startup competition that gives away $1m in no-strings funding to businesses who blend profit with purpose to have a positAvengers Star Zoe Saldana Promotes Social Startups at Final of Chivas Venture
Actress, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Zoe Saldana were in Amsterdam to help select the winner of the 2019 Chivas Venture – a social startup competition that gives away $1m in no-strings funding to businesses who blend profit with purpose to have a positive impact on the world. From 20 global finalists, Mexico's Xilinat walked away with the largest amount of funding, receiving $310,000, following a live pitch at Europe's leading tech festival, TNW Conference, as per an official release.Xilinat converts agricultural waste into a natural sugar substitute that looks and tastes like normal sugar yet is low in calories; helping tackle obesity while providing a sustainable alternative for diabetics and the health-conscious, as per the release.Javier Larragoiti, Co-Founder and CEO of Xilinat has been quoted as saying on his win, «This moment tastes pretty sweet! I'm super happy to have been crowned the winner of the Chivas Venture 2019; with this funding, we can go ten times bigger - and that means helping so many more people around the world.»Chivas Venture judge Zoe Saldana commented on our collective responsibility to drive positive impact as per the release, «We are all responsible for the future of our planet and our societies; we need our governments to be agents of positive change and it's up to us to let them know when they're doing a good job and when they're not. »Big businesses around the world also need to take responsibility and I'm in awe of what Chivas as a brand is doing; investing funds and driving awareness of these incredible entrepreneurs who are building businesses that are making our world a better place."This year's competition featured 20 entrepreneurs from across the world, all competing for a share of Chivas' $1 million funds. Through quarter and semi-final pitches, the 20 finalists were whittled down to five Grand Finalists, who had just three minutes to impress a panel of judges and an audience of global business leaders, tech professionals, investors, and entrepreneurs, according to the release.“The judging panel - which comprised Zoe Saldana; Alexandre Ricard (Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard – parent company of Chivas Regal), Cemal Ezel (Founder of Change Please and global winner of the Chivas Venture 2018); and Sonal Shah (Economist and founding Executive Director of the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University) – assessed each startup based on their ability to create sustainable change through a viable business model and potential to scale,” states the release.Click on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the event https://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin Read more