Inside New Venture
The Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship (PCSE) announced the grand prize winners of the New Venture Awards (NVA) on Monday, April 22nd. The semester-long selection process culminated in his NVA luncheon on Friday, April 19, where six finalists presented their opinions. project.
“The 2024 Patricelli Center New Venture Awards were the most competitive in the Center’s 13-year history,” PCSE Director Ahmed Badr ’20 wrote in an email to the Argus . “We are proud to have awarded a total of $44,000 to all applicants. For the first time, all applicants received awards. [at least] We will award them a $1,000 grant for their venture. ”
A panel of 10 judges selected Pyari (Priyanshu Pokhrel ’26, junior at Yale University). Nikita Paudel), Mdanza Dance Project (Rebecca Trevino ’24), Nilepu Foundation (Diana Kimodino ’25, Kyle Roshanquish ’24) as this year’s award recipient. As part of the award, he received $6,000 to financially support activities in their respective mission and focus areas.
Piari is a menstrual health management company based in Nepal that aims to ensure access to menstrual hygiene regardless of socio-economic status and eliminate the stigma associated with menstruation, which can be considered a cultural taboo. Masu.
“With this support, we will return to Nepal this summer to launch Pyari and conduct multiple art, education and skills learning workshops with our Nepal-based team.” Pokhrel wrote in an email to The Argus. “We also hope to engage other Wesleyan students in our projects this summer to further our larger goals of global awareness and engagement. This summer, NVA presented us with a huge opportunity, as we work with solutions-based organizations and have an advisory board that includes health experts, business strategists, and chemical engineers. We are excited to take Pyari from idea to action.”
Prior to winning the NVA, Peari was a finalist for the Davis Projects for Peace at Wesleyan and one of four finalists for the Start-Up Yale Thorne Award. Although they started with a local brand in mind, the founders hope to use the connections they’ve made over the past year to build the organization’s global presence.
Nilepu Foundation We strive to create safe spaces and educational opportunities for young Maasai women in Kenya, particularly those who experience cultural hostility such as female genital mutilation, early marriage, and educational disruption.
Similarly, Nailepu Foundation has also grown through the NVA selection process since its inception. At its launch, the Nilepu Foundation received the support of his 3,000 participants, including Kenya’s Ministries of Education and Ministries of Health. Board members are currently considering launching a second batch to build a vocational school for girls in Narok, Kenya.
“Working on this project has been a phenomenal experience,” Roshankush and Kimozino wrote in an email to The Argus. “The NVA application process was tough but incredibly rewarding. It helped us sharpen our goals and fine-tune our approach. I’m excited about the potential growth of , and I’m equally excited to see the New Ventures Awards continue to empower Wesleyan’s young entrepreneurs to make their visions a reality.”
Mdanza dance project It aims to promote an after-school program consisting of weekly dance workshops in local schools. At Vickery Meadows, an immigrant and refugee community in Dallas, Texas. Trevino emphasized that the organization aims to support the artistic expression of young residents. The group hopes to contribute to meeting the cultural production needs of local communities by encouraging communication and storytelling through dance.
Starting this year, PCSE will award awards to finalists in addition to grand prize winners. Three NVA finalists, Wings of Change Entrepreneurship Fellowship (Lois Amponsah ’27), Zarasoa (Thibault Hirsch ’25), and medX Insight (Adil Mohamed ’27) each received his $3,000 grant. I did.
“The Patricelli Center is honored to support Wesleyan entrepreneurs and change-makers who are making significant, intentional, and far-reaching impact across local, national, and international contexts,” Badr wrote.
NVA applicants and awardees also took advantage of available resources provided by the university throughout the selection process. These include coaching and mentoring, and access to newly launched features. Patricelli Center Venture Directory, Additionally, you will receive an invitation to a fully-funded trip to the United Nations Economic and Social Council Youth Forum, the Harvard University Social Innovators Showcase, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Thanks to generous support from NVA, the winners plan to further expand their projects this year.
To get to Francisca Wijaya: fwijaya@wesleyan.edu.
