Australian start-up Pollinate Energy made the top 12 in Chivas Regal’s The Venture awards.

Pollinate Energy, Australia’s first ever finalist in Chivas Regal’s The Venture awards for social enterprise, made it into the top 12 before being eliminated in the final round.

Pollinate Energy uses solar-powered lights to replace kerosene lamps, primarily in the poor communities of India, where kerosene lamps are the main cause of death in women and children, 24% of the population live in the dark, and 304 million live without electricity.

Conceptos Plásticos from Colombia was named winner. The brand focuses on transforming plastic waste into construction material for permanent housing.

The awards, hosted by Trevor Noah of The Daily Show celebrate innovative social enterprise organisations, and award winners with a share of The Venture Fund.

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Related: The Marketers Guide to Social Enterprise »

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Winner Conceptos Plásticos was awarded the largest contribution from the Fund, receiving $300,000.

Additional finalists to receive funding and recognition were:

• WeFarm, a pioneering knowledge-sharing platform for small scale farmers ($200K),
• EyeControl, a mobile communication device for ‘locked-in’ patients ($100K),
• Wakami, a producer of handmade fashion accessories that support community businesses across Guatemala ($100K), and
• Coolar, an innovative healthcare cooling system enabling doctors to preserve lifesaving medicine in off-grid regions ($50K).

Celebrity judges at the awards in New Work included Eva Longoria.

“Businesses like Conceptos Plásticos and WeFarm are great examples of how innovative, passionate and forward-thinking the social entrepreneurship movement is. Chivas is proud to support the global community of businesses that are on a mission to make a positive change in the world,” says Pernod Ricard chairman and CEO, and judging panel member Alexandre Ricard.

Chivas’ The Venture began in September 2014. This year’s award nominees and winners were chosen out of 2500 applications. Entries for next year’s awards open in September.

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Learn how social enterprises and established brands are partnering for shared value, and why many businesses are choosing to pursue the B Corp certification in The Marketers Guide to Social Enterprise

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