A trio of MassChallenge entrepreneurs received one of the highest honors in social innovation on Wednesday.
New York City-based Echoing Green tapped the leaders behind MassChallenge finalists DrinkWell, MoringaConnect and Plexx for its fellowship programs, which support emerging leaders working to bring about positive social change.
From thousands of applications, only one percent are ultimately chosen to receive the fellowship. During the first two years of the program, fellows will gain access to the Echoing Green’s talented alumni network, which includes Citizen Schools, Teach for America, City Year and SKS Microfinance, among others. Acceptees also receive up to $90,000 to participate in leadership development events and other gatherings.
Two of the Echoing Green startups – DrinkWell and MoringaConnect – hail from MassChallenge’s summer 2014 class, whereas Plexx took part in the 2013 session.
"Being named an Echoing Green Fellow and joining the ranks of so many passionate social entrepreneurs across the globe is the opportunity of a lifetime," Minhaj Chowdhury, founder and CEO of Drinkwell, told BostInno via email. "It is a genuine dream come true for me."
Bangladeshi-American Chowdhury founded DrinkWell to “transform the water crisis into entrepreneurial opportunity for rural Bangladesh by blending proprietary filtration technology with a franchise business model.” Drinkwell has successfully ran 200 pilots in India, Laos and Cambodia. The micro-franchise startup found that its system delivers 60 times more water, and is 17 times more energy efficient, reducing waste by seven orders of magnitude compared to reverse osmosis, the current practice. Drinkwell recently won Boston’s Startup Jackpot, a no-strings-attached pitch competition.
MoringaConnect works to “eradicate poverty and alleviate hunger by enabling small farmers in rural Ghana to participate in a global market with a demand for high value crops.” The socially-minded startup empowers farmers to plant Moringa trees, which serve as a nutritional food source and provide valuable oil. The leading brain behind the organization is Harvard grad Emily Cunningham, who laid the foundations for MoringaConnect while working in MIT’s D-Lab on a Gates Foundation award-winning multi-crop thresher.
Plexx is “a talent innovation company that improves the employability of urban youth without college degrees by making job training and placement solutions accessible via mobile technology.” Created by Yscaira Jimenez, who was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the Bronx, the organization partners with foundations, other nonprofits, agencies and employers to empower young adults in the U.S. and Latin America to explore, train and apply to jobs from their smartphone.
MassChallenge is known for attracting big-thinking startups. In May, the Seaport startup accelerator announced the final cut of its 128-team summer 2014 class – the product of the most competitive admissions process yet, with 1,600 eager early-stage companies penning applications from countries all over the globe.
And with companies and leaders like the three listed above in the mix, MassChallenge continues to impress and inspire with its dedication to building community not only in Boston, but also around the world. That’s a sentiment reflected in the accelerator’s recent Clinton Global Initiative commitment to expand into 10 new cities in the world by 2019, an endeavor valued at $10 million, to "catalyze a global renaissance," according to Co-founder and CEO John Harthorne.
Congratulations to Drinkwell, MoringaConnect and Plexx!
Writer's Note: A quote from Drinkwell Founder and CEO Minhaj Chowdhury was added to the article post-publish.
Image via MoringaConnect
