17 Teams Advance in the 2019 Social New Venture Challenge

On Wednesday, 17 teams advanced to the next round of the 2019 John Edwardson, ’72, Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC).

The SNVC is the social impact track of the Edward L. Kaplan, ’71, New Venture Challenge (NVC), the University of Chicago’s nationally ranked accelerator program. The SNVC is run by Chicago Booth's Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation, along with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

The SNVC is the cornerstone of the university’s Edwardson Social Entrepreneurship Program, an initiative that jump-starts businesses and nonprofits focused on achieving social missions, including past winners solar-powered light company LuminAID, Nigeria-based tractor-leasing company Hello Tractor, online voter guide BallotReady, and autism therapy startup AIM Clinics.

With the announcement, the teams advance to Phase II of the competition, during which they will work throughout Spring Quarter to launch a nonprofit or for-profit enterprise with a social mission at the core.

Finalists will compete on Tuesday, June 4, for $75,000 in venture funding and additional specialized awards.

2019 SNVC Teams include:

4847s provides an online platform of emotional and social support for LGBTQ college students through online-therapy sessions, local therapist referrals, and trained online mentors. (School affiliation: Harris, SSA)

ActionCollective is a nonprofit organization with a mission to support civil society actors working in peripheral areas of developing countries by providing an online platform to enable collective action. (Harris)

Business Services Cooperative supports people of color engaged in construction trades to collectively thrive by improving member profitability and transforming the construction sector and the communities it employs. (Booth)

Debate it Forward uses debate to teach students frequently overlooked by academically rigorous extracurricular programs critical 21st century skills: analytical reasoning, self-advocacy, and respectful disagreement. (College)

diBO is an impact banking organization that will provide innovative financial products to the 180 million US adults considered "financially coping or vulnerable,” helping them cover emergency expenses that affect their daily life. (Booth, Computer Science, Harris)

First Week Flip Phone is a monthly curated “smartphone detox” challenge to address mental health problems associated with excessive smartphone usage, including anxiety, loneliness, and depression. (College, Social Sciences)

MM Community is a civic engagement solution that promotes inclusive community development in local townships and villages in Myanmar by enabling citizens to crowdfund community projects, with government repayments at project completion. (Harris)

Modern Village is bridging the gap between new moms and the postpartum care by connecting new moms and partners with local, trained, empathetic caregivers to offer antepartum education, postpartum in-home wellness visits, and personalized online support. (Booth)

Mothers Rise Up will provide education and support structure programs to assist young single mothers in Botswana with personal, social, and professional development platforms. (Harris)

MyEdustream is an affordable online adaptive learning education platform that teaches test preparation strategies for ACT, SAT, GMAT, GRE, and more through the vehicle of entertainment. (Booth)

OpportunityConnect is a two-sided platform that seeks to bridge the divide in economically isolated communities by connecting youth to an online ecosystem that will change the way they search for professional and educational opportunities. (Booth, College, Harris)

Peak-A-Box provides early childhood educators in developing countries with a mobile application that shares play-based activities and lesson planning tools designed to supplement teacher training programs and empower children to reach their peak potential. (Booth)

Piscene helps fisheries become more sustainable, less wasteful, and less hampered by invasive species by identifying markets for fishery-by-catch, under-utilized fish, and invasive species to ensure the long-term stability of local economies. (Harris)

SafeMatch is a for-profit social company which aims to improve the safety of the online dating community through a secure mobile app for people who want to validate their partner’s HIV/STD status without exchanging personal information. (Booth, Harris)

Sakhi is an app-enabled, integrated telehealth platform that specializes in end-to-end, holistic health care for women with the aim of revolutionizing the protocol for women’s healthcare and empowering them to take control of their physical and mental health. (Booth)

Populi Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a more representative physician workforce by providing quality pre-medical mentoring and advising to students of socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. (Booth, Pritzker)

Visionary Kits creates educational kits for youth to help them learn how to build products that provide practical utility in daily life and teach them about alternative energy, water filtration, and financial literacy. (Booth)

To learn more about social entrepreneurship programs and events, sign up to receive updates from the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation.

To register to attend the 2019 SNVC Finals and the Taste the Impact Reception on Tuesday, June 4, register here.