England & Wales Start-up Is One Sip Closer to Share of $1m Chivas Venture Fund

Thomas Fudge from WASE wins local heat of the Chivas Venture 2020 and will now represent England and Wales at the $1m Global Final

LONDON, Jan. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Social enterprise, WASE, is preparing to go head-to-head in a series of spirited pitches with 25 of the hottest start-ups from around the world. WASE has won the England & Wales final of the Chivas Venture; a global competition from leading blended Scotch whisky Chivas that gives away $1 million in no-strings funding every year to social businesses that blend profit and purpose to have a positive impact on the world.

WASE develop decentralised wastewater treatment systems that embrace a circular economy to recover energy, nutrients and water in wastewater -  providing sanitation and energy in underserved communities.

"I'm super excited and honoured to be representing England and Wales in The Chivas Venture global finals. Can't wait to show the rest of the world what WASE has to offer and fight for my spot in the finals, watch this space!" – Thomas Fudge, WASE founder.

Wase founder, Thomas Fudge, will now embark on the journey of a lifetime that will put his business to the test on a global scale. In the run-up to the Global Final in June, the 26 social entrepreneurs will travel to London to take part in a three-day accelerator programme – providing exposure to experts and industry professionals, and a range of networking opportunities. The entrepreneurs will engage in one-on-one coaching sessions, taking their businesses to the next level and ensuring a pitch-perfect performance.

Last year's winner, Javier Larragoiti, founder of Mexico's Xilinat, said of the experience: "Taking part in the Chivas Venture has been an unbelievable and life-changing experience for me and my business; to see all my years of hard work and belief in my product shared on a global scale was a dream come true. The competition has provided Xilinat with a global platform and the funding to change the course of the sugar industry forever…pretty sweet, right?"

Chivas believes in blending ambition with generosity and in using success to enrich the lives of others – a belief instilled by founding brothers, James and John Chivas, who shared their success with their local community as their business grew. Two centuries later, the Chivas Venture champions these values – to date, the competition has positively impacted over 2 million lives, thanks to the $5m that Chivas has awarded to social businesses around the world.

Just as Chivas champions the perfect blend of malt and grain whiskies in its Scotch, the Chivas Venture champions entrepreneurs who blend profit and purpose to have a positive impact on the world. Find out more about the Chivas Venture and why blending profit and purpose is better at Chivasventure.com.

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Twitter: @ChivasVenture