Leading blended Scotch whisky, Chivas, has launched of the 6th year of the Chivas Venture – a global competition that gives away $1m in no-strings funding every year to the hottest social startups that blend profit and purpose to have a positive impact on the world.
The competition, which brings to life Chivas’ belief that blended is better – in life, business and Scotch – invites the brightest entrepreneurs who are using business to change the world for the better to compete for a chance to win training, funding and exposure on a global scale. Thanks to the $5 million provided in funding to previous finalists, the Chivas Venture has positively impacted over two million lives to date.
An upbeat chair and CEO of Chivas Brothers, parent company of Chivas said it was incredibly uplifting to know that so many entrepreneurs across the world were continuing to use business to tackle a whole host of social and environmental issues that threaten human beings’ future on the planet.
“To date, Chivas Venture finalists have provided over 34 million litres of safe drinking water, recycled over 1,300 tonnes of waste and provided 75,000 days of education for women and girls – to mention just a handful of their many accomplishments. That’s why, through the Chivas Venture, we want to continue to harness the power of the world’s purpose-driven innovators, and help accelerate their impact,” he said.
Ahead of the Chivas Venture Global Final the winning finalist from each participating country will take part in an initial round of public voting for a share of the funding. The finalists will then battle it out at the Global Final for the remainder of the $1m fund.
At the Global Final in 2019, social startup Xilinat from Mexico was awarded the largest share of the fund, with founder Javier Larragoiti receiving $310,000 towards his business that aims to change the sugar industry as we know it. Larragoiti was awarded the funding by an esteemed judging panel including actress and entrepreneur Zoe Saldana, chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard, Alexandre Ricard, economist Sonal Shah and global winner of the Chivas Venture 2018, Cemal Ezel, the founder of Change Please.
Chivas’ belief in blending – in life, business and Scotch – was instilled by founding brothers James and John Chivas, who pioneered the art of blending whisky in 19th century Scotland, and shared their success with the local community as their business grew.
