Unilever Brand Backs Social Entrepreneurs

After a six-month search and judging process, Ben & Jerry’s unveiled the first-ever winners of its Join Our Core competition to find the best young sustainable business minds across Europe.

 

The five winners each received a €10,000 cash prize and a business mentoring program from social enterprise gurus Ashoka. They will also have their names featured on a new commemorative Ben & Jerry’s flavor in 2013.

 

“When Ben and I set up the company in 1978, we believed that giving back to the community was as important as making great-tasting ice cream,” says Jerry Greenfield. “We certainly think we’ve found those same values, not only in the five winners, but in many of this year’s entrants and we’re very excited to see how all these young businesses grow.”

 

Join Our Core was launched by Ben & Jerry’s in the belief that as businesses grow they should share their prosperity.

 

The winners are:

 

·       Archipelago—a community of young entrepreneurs who help each other build and fund innovative, sustainable companies.

·       Fairmail—greetings cards featuring photos taken by at-risk teenagers in Peru, India and Morocco. The photographers receive 50% of the profit from the sale of their cards.

·       Mattecentrum—providing free math tutoring for up to 70,000 young people every month, thanks to a network of volunteers.

·       Play 31—bringing communities together to play football while learning about resolving conflicts in a peaceful way.

·       Rubies in the Rubble—training out-of-work people to make delicious jams and chutneys from surplus fresh fruit sourced from markets before it’s discarded.

 

Alongside the overall winners, five businesses separately won the People’s Choice Award voted for by the general public. Each received a cash prize of €1,000.