Women Deliver social enterprise challenge finalists named

Women Deliver, a global advocacy organization, last Tuesday announced its Social Enterprise Challenge finalists: 10 outstanding entrepreneurs, including those from Uganda, who are driving innovative approaches to improve the health and wellbeing of girls and women around the world through harnessing the power of technology.

Their innovations range from apps that turn smart phones into period trackers to Ebola-inspired SMS programs that connect health workers in the field.

According to a press release from Women Deliver headquarters in New York, each finalist will receive a scholarship to attend the Women Deliver 2016 Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark between May 16 and 19.

At the conference, the finalists will compete to win the 2016 Global Solution Award and a cash prize to implement or scale up their innovation.

"Solving the greatest global challenges will require entrepreneurial spirit, earnest passion, and the understanding that delivering for girls and women translates to delivering for humanity," Katja Iversen, the CEO of Women Deliver was quoted in the press release. "Creative minds are already developing the solutions we need to improve the health and wellbeing of girls and women; now is the time to foster them, support them, and help them bring their innovations to scale, inspiring positive change around the world."

Of the 10 Social Enterprise Challenge finalists, five are based in Asia, three in sub-Saharan Africa, one in North Africa, and one has operations on several continents.
The finalist from Uganda is GreenChar, which also has operations in Kenya and Tanzania. The company is involved in sequestering carbon and reducing  deforestation by selling clean charcoal briquettes and smokeless cook stoves as alternative household energy solutions.

The Women Deliver 2016 Conference is expected to be the world's largest global conference on the health, rights and wellbeing of girls and women in a decade. It will bring together more than 5,000 global and local leaders, policymakers, researchers, private sector, and NGO representatives from 150 countries to drive investments and progress for development that matters most for girls and women, with a specific focus on health, rights, education, and economic empowerment.

The Social Enterprise Challenge is one component of a broad focus on innovative tech solutions at the Women Deliver 2016 Conference. In addition to the competition, a special reception-style event, Appy Hour, will spotlight 10 new global health apps that benefit girls and women, and on-site installations from partners will showcase how new technology is changing the face of global development and impacting the health and wellbeing of girls and women around the world.  

About Women Deliver:
As a leading global advocate for girls' and women's health, rights and wellbeing, Women Deliver brings together diverse voices and interests to drive progress, particularly in maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights.

It builds capacity, shares solutions, and forges partnerships, together creating coalitions, communication, and action that spark political commitment and investment in girls and women. Women Deliver believes that when the world invests in girls and women, everybody wins.