Today, we are announcing the top three finalists in the Dell Empowering Women Challenge. This is the first year for the Dell Empowering Women Challenge and I was thrilled that we had more than 600+ projects submitted from every region of the world. Dell team members served as judges to narrow the list down to 50 semi-finalists. The 50 semi-finalists were paired with Dell and Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network members who served as mentors to bring their advice, experience and guidance to improve their projects.
I’m excited to present our three finalists:
ULTRASAFE ULTRASOUND – Ultrasafe Ultrasound, a nine-member student social entrepreneur team from The University of Pennsylvania, works to curb female feticide and promote gender equality in India by developing novel algorithm software that automatically blurs the genitalia of a fetus during live ultrasound images.
PASAND – Student social entrepreneur team Pasand from Princeton University improves access to affordable sanitary protection and feminine health education by partnering with schools to provide an interactive curriculum. On a mission to improve school attendance and reduce gynecological issues related to low sanitary pad access, 11-member team Pasand offers young women the opportunity to make choices for their own health and dignity.
WOMEN MOVING THE WORLD – Student social entrepreneur team Women Moving the World from Singularity University operates a platform allowing women in Latin America access to practical and comprehensive entrepreneurship tools necessary for starting and growing their own enterprises. Three-member team Women Moving the World will use scalable resources such as inexpensive tablets and support networks to support women entrepreneurs in Mexico, Chile, Peru, and Colombia.
These teams will be three promising student social entrepreneur teams will be competing for $35,000 in seed funding on January 15, 2014 in New York. The judging panel will include representatives from Dell, Avon and leading influencers Elizabeth Gore of the UN Foundation and Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild of E.L. Rothschild.