Graduates will conclude program with Pitch Night, compete for $10,000 prize from Citizens Bank
PROVIDENCE, RI – Eighteen startups and 22 entrepreneurs will graduate tomorrow (July 14) from Social Enterprise Greenhouse’s (SEG) Impact Accelerator program. Since March, these entrepreneurs have worked diligently and creatively to further develop their businesses plans to solve emerging social, environmental, and economic challenges in our communities. The graduating ventures represent a diverse range of industries, including the food and catering, support of women’s postpartum health, and an edible and medicinal plant nursery.
“The Impact Accelerator is one of SEG’s marquee programs. Over the years, our graduating ventures have built successful businesses, generated millions of dollars of economic activity, hired hundreds of workers, and given back to their community,” said SEG Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ramirez. “SEG has helped lay a foundation for inclusive entrepreneurship in this region and has supported hundreds of impactful businesses. This cohort of entrepreneurs already have roots in the community. Congratulations to all of our graduates.”
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is scheduled to attend the graduation and pitch night.
“Well done to all of the entrepreneurs who completed the Impact Accelerator program. Social Enterprise Greenhouse is doing incredible work both making Rhode Island a better place to live and growing our economy,” said Senator Whitehouse.
SEG’s Impact Accelerator has earned regional and national accolades for providing participants with practical tools, access to networks, and resources that are necessary to build sustainable and impactful businesses. Impact Accelerator participants are selected because of their efforts which promote stronger communities and foster a more just, equitable, and resilient economy. Since SEG’s launched the Impact Accelerator, 242 startups and 285 entrepreneurs have graduated from the program.
“This group of ventures brought their passion, tenacity and comradery to every session,” said Stefanie Engelhardt, Senior Manager of Program Operations. “We are so excited to see how this dedication reflects in their pitches and in the ways in which they will grow their ventures after this event.”
SEG’s 2022 Spring Impact Accelerator is supported in part by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training’s Real Jobs RI Initiative, The Rhode Island Foundation, Citizens, the van Beuren Charitable Foundation, and the Island Foundation. Citizens has also provided mentorship on banking to participants and is generously providing a $10,000 cash prize to one of the ventures.
Since SEG launched in 2009, more than 1,800 entrepreneurs and companies have participated in SEG programs. SEG was one of the first incubation and accelerator organizations in the country to focus on social impact as a pathway to create opportunities, especially for those entrepreneurs and businesses that traditionally face barriers to access.
Graduates of the program will be pitching to a live audience, both in-person and virtually, on July 14 at 6:00 pm. The public is invited to join and celebrate the innovative pitches from these start-up businesses, registration is open here. Media is also invited to attend and cover the pitch night and graduation.
The following startups will pitch in the live event:
CTD Creative Consulting supports women solopreneurs who seek help with leveraging their online activities to build awareness about their service-based businesses. Support includes consulting, plan creation, and implementation of strategies.
Dennise Kowalczyk, Founder | Providence, RI
Fizzle Power Tech is a green tech startup that makes use of the power of deep technologies to accelerate better access to affordable electricity. They create a platform that provides access to renewable/sustainable energy, where underserved Africans can buy, track and trade energy to other users.
Kehinde Fashola, Founder & CEO | Lagos, Nigeria
Geri’s Bluffing Boutique (GBB) uses fashion, art and culture to transform lives by providing an atmosphere where one can connect with their roots through an educational retail experience in the heart of Woonsocket.
Geraldine Barclay-King, Founder | Woonsocket, RI
imPASTA! is the only pre-cut, pre-cooked Ready-To-Eat spaghetti squash on the market, made to take all the hassle out of preparation with no additives or preservatives, all while diverting waste from the landfill by upcycling and donating product to those in need.
Donya Litowitz, CEO & Co-Founder; Peter Mead, CSO & Co-Founder; Jammie Underhill, Co-Founder | Miami, FL
JA Patty RI Catering & Events specializes in freshly baked Jamaican patties & scratch-made cuisine. They share and celebrate their love for Jamaica through delicious food.
Conroy Outar, Co-Founder & Alison Rosario, Co-Founder | Pawtucket, RI
Launched Beginnings provides differently abled students with community based learning experiences that encourage self-discovery, support skill development and celebrate individual achievement.
Mike Wilson, Founder | Rhode Island
Liz Dempsey Lee establishes sustainable educational equity programming by leveraging the power of community to build deep understanding, increase allyship across ideological gaps, and to assure a positive school experience for ALL children.
Liz Dempsey Lee, Founder | Boston, MA
Maame or “Mother” (Akan language) is a business centered around selling African-inspired headwraps with a unique application of print meanings and African heritage stories. Their goal is to solely bridge connections to the motherland!
Janelle Amoako, Co-Founder & Jude Amoako, Co-Founder | Cranston, RI
Midori Creativity is building a nurturing ecosystem, promoting the power of creativity in everyday lives through unique workshops, coaching, community-wide projects, business development for creatives, and a shared language
Midori Evans, Founder | Westport, MA
Mathilde handcrafts modern heirloom quilts for the home that enrich peoples’ lives. They support a network of women makers keeping the tradition of handmade goods alive.
Claudia Middendorf, Founder | Pawtucket, RI
Nisus Life is a Registered Nurse-created wellness brand that is making health simple during motherhood by creating wholesome, natural, all-in-one dietary supplements and snacks formulated specifically to support a woman’s postpartum healing and promote a successful lactation journey.
Massiel Eversley, Founder & CEO | Stoughton, MA
Nuts & Bolts Nursery Co-op is a worker-owned cooperative plant nursery that promotes healthy, diverse ecologies and resilient communities through edible and medicinal perennial plants, including seed-grown fruit & nut trees.
Co-founded by worker-owners Amanda Anglemyer, Jacob Grassi, Andy Goldman, Marlene Schuster, & Connor Burbridge | Smithfield, RI
PVD World Music Institute aims to safeguard and shine light on the intangible cultural heritages of Africans and indigenous people living in Rhode Island.
Chance K Boas, Founder | Providence, RI
Revive the Roots fosters diverse landscapes and programs to gather, create, learn and grow food in community.
Hannah Martin, Community Building & Bradford Adelard, Nonprofit Management | Smithfield, RI
Sercle Inc. is a community and impact-driven startup on a mission to transform society’s understanding and response to sexual and gender-based violence using storytelling, data, and technology.
Ijeoma Ndukwe, Founder | Lagos, Nigeria
StoryHabitat helps museums and cultural institutions bring personal experiences to life, enabling organizations to capture and curate live video stories on the spot in support of their social and climate justice missions.
Brad Larson, Founder | Canton, MA
WE Made offers Southern staples with a purpose. Their baking mixes and other home goods are made by people with disabilities and other barriers to employment through their workforce development program in Birmingham, AL.
Madeline Oliff, Social Enterprise Program Manager | Birmingham, AL
July 13, 2022