Chivas unveils judges for $1 Million Global search for Start-Ups

Ahead of the Chivas Venture 2018, a global search to find and support the next generation of start-ups, the organisers have unveiled Afua Osei (Co-Founder, She Leads Africa), Shola Ladoja (Founder, Simply Green Juice) and Oluyomi Ojo (Co-Founder, Printivo) as Judges for the $1 Million Global search for Start Ups, which is now open in Nigeria.

Since the Chivas Venture first launched globally in 2014, almost 6,000 social entrepreneurs have applied for the chance to receive a share of the annual $1 million fund, and applications for the 2018 competition are now open.

From the 29 countries in 5 continents that will be participating, one winner will be selected and given the chance to take part in an exclusive accelerator programme followed by three weeks of online voting, where the allocation of the first $200,000 of the fund will be put into the hands of the public.

The project will culminate in a series of high-stake pitches at the Chivas Venture Final, where the remainder of the $1 million fund will be distributed.

Meanwhile, Chivas Regal has continued its partnership with E.D.C, the Entrepreneurship Centre of the Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria for this years’ initiative, to find and support promising local social entrepreneurs across all sectors. The top three participants will pitch their business plans at a finale session to a panel of seasoned judges, which consists of Afua Osei, Shola Ladoja and Oluyomi Ojo.

The 2017 Chivas Venture Final in Los Angeles saw five enterprising grand finalists pitch to a panel of judges that included Oscar-winning actress and philanthropist, Halle Berry where Nigeria’s Chioma Ukonu, COO of RecyclePoints, an incentive based recycling scheme emerged as the first runner-up, receiving $200,000.

Craig Van Niekerk, Marketing Director for Chivas Regal Nigeria, said, “We were incredibly proud of our local winner, Chioma Ukonu of RecyclePoints who won $200,000 for her business at the global finals and gone on to achieve more success. This year, we hope to find another entrepreneur whose business is not only relevant locally but can solve a global need. I’m confident that such a venture exists here in Nigeria.”