Announcing the 2024 New Venture Award Winners
The Patricelli Center New Venture Awards (NVAs), formerly known as the Seed Grants, are three $6,000 awards that aim to recognize and support impactful student projects, organizations, and companies across sectors and communities.
On April 19th, 2024, six Wesleyan student finalists pitched their projects for a chance to win one of the three $6,000 grand prizes. The New Venture Awards luncheon, followed by the program of pitches, featured six, six-minute pitches.
The 2024 winners of the Patricelli Center New Venture Awards are:
Priyanshu Pokhrel '26 & Nikita Paudel
Pyari empowers women and girls in Syangja, Nepal, by ensuring that every menstruator has a dignified period regardless of their socio-economic status.
Rebeca Trevino '24
The Mudanza Dance Project will provide a series of weekly dance workshops in Vickery Meadows, an immigrant / refugee community in Dallas, Texas.
Diana Kimojino ‘25 & Kyle Roshankish '24
The Nailepu Foundation aims to build the next generation of financially independent women in Maasai Land, Kenya.
Special thanks to the remaining three finalists for their extraordinary work. They will each receive $3,000 for their ventures:
Lois Amponsah '27
The Wings of Change Entrepreneurship Fellowship equips Ghanaian youths with practical skills, mentorship, and opportunities to drive entrepreneurship, combat unemployment, and foster community development.
Adil Mohammed '27
medX Insight's ClinicAssist.ai allows clinicians to spend less time on paperwork, and more time in front of more patients, saving them time and resources while improving the delivery of care.
Thibeaux Hirsh '25
Zarasoa focuses on on the production and sale of locally made Madagascar Jars for rainwater harvesting which will provide a family access to safe drinking and sanitation water.
And a very special thank you to our wonderful judges for their hard work and contributions to the PCSE community:
Felicia Appenteng '07 , Advisor, Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT
Deepak Ramola, Founder & CEO, Project FUEL
Peter Liang, Founder, Leadership4Kids
Tolu Olubunmi, CEO, LionsWrite
Anne Laskowski, Chief of Staff and Director of Strategic Planning, Office of the President, Wesleyan University
Matt Sorkin, Customer Strategy Director, North America, Auror
Eduarda Zoghbi, Climate & Energy Specialist, Climate Investment Funds (CIF)
Inayah Bashir '20, Community Development Consultant
Espoir Nindeba, Founder, Kira for Action
Gato Nsengamungo '23, Founder, Youth Tech Informants
Gallery
Photos by Stefano Castro ‘21
