Six finalists announced for 2021 Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge
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The challenge aims to amplify and support Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs who are “working to advance their communities, while fostering a more inclusive future of fashion”.
Over 430 applications were made by global startups and scale-ups, before being narrowed down by a dedicated set of criteria including potential social impact and market growth.
The six finalists are:
Clothes to Good: A South African-based social enterprise that creates micro-business opportunities and jobs for people with disabilities and their families, especially mothers, through textile recycling.
Haelixa: A Switzerland-based product traceability technology that aims to accelerate the global transition to transparent consumer goods supply chains.
Mafi Mafi: An Ethiopia-based sustainable fashion brand that crafts ready-to-wear collections, preserving ancient traditions and empowering marginalized artisans.
Lalaland: A Netherlands-based platform that uses artificial intelligence to generate customized and inclusive synthetic models of different ethnicities, ages and sizes, all with over 35 pose variations.
Soko: A Kenya-based jewelry business that uses mobile technology to connect marginalized Kenyan artisans directly to the global marketplace via a mobile platform.
Uzuri K&Y: A Rwandan-based eco-friendly shoe brand that uses recycled car tires from sub-Saharan Africa and employs local youth, equipping them with skills and economic independence.
The six finalists will now pitch their business ideas to a jury panel of business and sustainability leaders at the final event in January.
Two winners will be awarded a shared 200,000 euros to support their ventures.
They will also receive a year-long mentorship with both Tommy Hilfiger and experts from business school Insead, as well as a place in the Insead Social Entrepreneurship Program (ISEP).
An additional 15,000 euros will be awarded to the 'Audience Favorite’ finalist.