THE PASSION PROJECTS FINAL

Last autumn, we launched our Passion Projects competition to help support women around the world who wanted to turn their side hustles into thriving businesses. After sifting through over 1,000 applications, we gathered in London to celebrate our amazing finalists and to crown our winner!

The final event took place on the 23rd June at the Allbright, a women’s only members club situated in the heart of Fitzrovia and by the end of the night, £25,000 of no-strings funding was awarded to the businesses that were turning their passion into profit.

Our Winner – Samantha Jackman

From six finalists, Samantha Jackman from Boost walked away with the grand prize of £20,000 in no strings attached funding. With hopes of re-instilling self confidence in women, Boost makes eco-friendly, comfortable breast forms for women as an alternative to the traditional silicone. The products are colourful and open structured, making it accessible to women of all skin tones.

In case you missed it, here’s a run-down of the Global Final:

Lights, Camera, Action

Our six finalists were joined by our award-winning host and presenter, Ria Hebden, and a star-studded judging panel, all of whom had been part of the campaign from the very beginning: co-founders of Double Dutch, Joyce and Raissa de Haas, Hilary Rowland, co-founder of United Fitness Brands; and Steph Douglas, founder and owner of Don’t Buy Her Flowers.

The six finalists then took turns pitching their businesses and answering a series of tough questions from the judges. Afterward, the judges went to deliberate and decide who would win the grand prize of £20,000.

Everyone’s a Winner

It was important to us that we awarded prizes to all of our finalists as a thank you for their efforts.

Our runner up, Kate Samuelson from Cheapskate London, the ultimate guide to London’s best free events, received a £1,000 prize and a Future Females Business School membership pass.

All of our other global finalists received a £1,000:

1. Alison Woods, co-founder of Lilypads, a company that is aiming to eliminate period poverty with its reusable period pads.
2. Henda Scott from Jamii Designs, a company that employs women in rural areas of South Africa as dressmakers, bringing vital jobs and money into villages.
3. Tina Chen who has been quenching the thirst of Brits with her vegan tea beverage, HumaniTea.
4. Nicole Grant from SHE2, a female leadership network supporting members to achieve their ambitions of C-Suite influence.

It was an inspiring evening and a huge congratulations to our winner and our other finalists – we can’t wait to watch them continue to flourish and take their businesses to the next level.

Here’s a sneak peek behind the scenes for those of you who weren’t able to join us in London – and keep an eye out for an exciting announcement about the future of our Passion Projects competition coming very soon…