4 April 2019
Luisa Abballe and Arien Hall of Mastodonte took home the first place prize of $10,000 at the Water Challenge presented by Greater New Orleans Foundation, Propeller’s annual pitch competition for entrepreneurs building a stronger, more equitable water industry. Mastodonte also took home the Audience Favorite Award of $500, awarded by an audience vote.
Mastodonte provides a holistic approach to historic renovations and stormwater management systems and tackles issues and inequities in the water industry. They will use the $10,000 to further provide green infrastructure, apprenticeships, and stormwater management in and around the New Orleans community.
Five other water entrepreneurs also competed for the top prize, awarded by Dr. Robert Collins (Professor of Urban Studies & Public Policy, Dillard University), Ella Delio (Director of Environmental & Regional Initiatives, Greater New Orleans Foundation), and Liz Williams Russell (Coastal Communities Resilience Director, Foundation for Louisiana).
The evening marked the first event in PitchNOLA, Propeller’s series of pitch competitions for entrepreneurs tackling social and environmental inequities. The next competition will be the Education Challenge presented by Capital One on April 17th, followed by the Health & Food Challenge presented by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Louisiana on May 1st.
Tickets are free and open to the public at GoPropeller.org/PitchNOLA.
Ventures mentioned in this post
