François-Henri Pinault awards 3 Social Entrepreneurs’ winning projects of 2012
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The PPR Foundation supports social entrepreneurs committed to women’s empowerment:
François-Henri Pinault awards 3 Social Entrepreneurs’ winning projects of 2012
François-Henri Pinault, Chairman of the PPR Foundation for Women’s Dignity & Rights, awarded three social entrepreneurs during a ceremony in Paris on 21 June: Sophia Klumpp & Paul Grinvalds for AFRIPads, Delphine Kohler for Les Filles du Facteur and Miriam Espinoza & Patricia Marihuen for Relmu Witral.
Launched in January 2009, the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity & Rights, a part of PPR HOME, fights violence against women and promotes women’s empowerment. As part of its programme of action, and in line with the entrepreneurial values of the PPR group, every two years the Foundation selects three social entrepreneurs chosen for the economic viability and added social value of their projects, benefiting women. As well as financial support of €15,000, each winner benefits from support provided by a senior manager from PPR who will bring his/her business and market expertise, offer food for thought about its positioning and open up his/her network to the project.
François-Henri Pinault stated:
‘Each in its own way, these three projects demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit, reconciling economic performance, social innovation and benefit to the community. I am delighted that the PPR Foundation is now supporting them, because I believe that business has a role to play alongside government bodies and non-profit organisations working together to promote the cause of women. I would like to thank the Group’s employees who will be mentoring these social entrepreneurs by providing the managerial and strategic skills essential to the development of their project’.
The winners of the 2012 PPR Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur Awards are:
• Sophia Klumpp and Paul Grinvalds / AFRIpads
To encourage the educational and vocational integration of girls in Uganda through offering washable sanitary pads.
In 2009, faced with the problem of school absenteeism amongst Ugandan girls, and particularly its link to menstruation, Sophia Klumpp and Paul Grinvalds set up a locally based social entreprise manufacturing washable menstrual pads.
This project is sponsored by a manager of Bottega Veneta, on communications and human resources strategies.
• Delphine Kohler / LES FILLES DU FACTEUR
To support the empowerment of Burkinabian women through the production of crocheted accessories made from recycled plastic bags
In 1992 stylist Delphine Kohler created the Facteur Céleste brand which promotes craftsmanship, the recycling of materials and building bridges between cultures. In 2008, she decided to involve the women of Burkina Faso: the Filles du Facteur organisation opens up economic opportunities through a production shop, whilst offering social support in the form of training, literacy classes and access to healthcare.
This project will benefit from the guidance of a manager of PPR on brand positioning and distribution strategy.
• Miriam Espinoza López & Patricia Marihuen / RELMU WITRAL
To preserve the traditional skills of the Mapuche women weavers of Chile
A cooperative of 135 women, Relmu Witral organises the production and the distribution of naturally dyed woollen clothes and decoration items. For 10 years, Relmu Witral has been giving the Mapuche women the opportunity to get a traditional weaving training and has been guiding them towards autonomy within their homes and their community.
This project is supported by a manager of Volcom, who will help them reshape their product offer and marketing strategy.
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Launched in 2008, the PPR Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur Grants have already been awarded to seven projects. In 2010, three winning owners of projects to benefit women were given support: Sakina M’Sa, creator of the Trevo workshop, a work integration social enterprise ‘through beauty and dressmaking’ for women with very limited employment opportunities, in the deprived Goutte d’Or district of Paris ; Maria-Teresa Leal, founder of Coopa Roca, a cooperative of women from the slum of La Rocinha, in Rio, Brazil, which makes items for the fashion and design sectors using the traditional embroidery and craft techniques of northern Brazil; Anne Roos-Weil, co-founder of the Pesinet association which fights against infant and maternal mortality in Mali through an e-healthcare community service offering prevention, early detection and treatment of simple illnesses at an affordable cost through regular monitoring of health data.
Moreover, as part of the collaboration between the PPR Foundation and the PPR UniverCité, a training programme for the Group’s high potential managers, a skill sharing mission has been run for the benefit of a social entrepreneurship project.
So in June 2009, six PPR executives conducted an audit of L’association La Voûte Nubienne. In 2010, it was Sakina M’Sa’s Trevo Workshop that benefited from this programme which redefined the business model of the organisation. One of their most noteworthy recommendations was the designing of a bag in partnership with Puma, the PPR Group’s Sport&Lifestyle brand, which was launched last Autumn exclusively through the Merci store in Paris.
About the PPR Foundation:
Since its inception in 2009, the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity & Rights fights violence against women and promotes women’s empowerment. The PPR Foundation supports community based projects in partnership with local and international NGOs and encourages staff mobilization. Its action to the benefit of women is structured around 5 programs: support to NGos, social entrepreneurs’ awards, access to microcredit, awareness raising and projects with the brands.
The PPR Foundation is part of PPR HOME.
www.fondationppr.org
Press contact
Claire Fretellière – 33 1 45 64 63 31 - cfretelliere@ppr.com