Meet 10 finalists of the pitch competition “Let the good ideas grow 2024”

October 16, 2024

Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia, together with Luminor Bank, invites all residents of Latvia to watch online the final of the annual Social Entrepreneurship Pitch competition “Let the Good Ideas Grow” on October 17th and vote for this year’s best social entrepreneurship initiative. The audience vote will determine one of the competition winners, who will receive €4,000 cash prize to develop their social enterprise or realize their idea.

In the competition 10 finalists current and aspiring social entrepreneurs from all over Latvia — will present their social enterprises and social entrepreneurship ideas.

1.) Support and Development Center “KOPĀ” from the Jelgava city / Sandra Olava

The main mission of the social enterprise “Support and Development Center KOPĀ” is to promote the inclusion and acceptance of people with autism spectrum disorders, as well as to provide support to families raising such children. The center increasingly encounters situations where families break apart because fathers, emotionally overwhelmed, cannot cope, fails to accept the situation, and leave families with children who have autism spectrum disorders. Until now, the emotional support provided by the center has mainly focused on the mothers, but now they plan to develop a new service — lectures, training and activities for fathers together with their children to encourage, educate, and support them.

“Tavi draugi” regularly receives and distributes a large volume of donations, supporting individuals and institutions in need both in Latvia and Ukraine. Assistance is provided by responding to emergency requests as well as helping people who cannot afford food, clothing, or hygiene products, and by supporting families and the elderly in rural areas. As they receive and carefully sort through a large number of donations, an inventory of items accumulates that, for various reasons, are no longer needed or practically usable. To protect the environment, avoid creating additional waste, and give these items a second life, “Tavi draugi” aims to restore these unusable items and offer them for rent to individuals and companies for event decoration and services. This would also help to generate additional funds for the organisation’s charity projects.

3.) Izipizi.lv from Ogre Municipality / Rolands Dzenis

Through a specialized food parcel machine network and an innovative platform, the company “IziPizi” brings together the community to maintain the delivery process and develop infrastructure to promote the availability of local food producers’ products throughout Latvia. The company also oversees the virtual market platform “Svaigi.lv” where anyone can quickly and easily purchase Latvian farmers’ products at producer prices. “IziPizi” is currently developing a network of food parcel machines that can send products at temperature settings of +4°C or -18°C. This provides small producers with the opportunity to send small shipments in compliance with the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD) requirements to areas where they cannot deliver themselves.

Every year, waste from the fashion industry accounts for up to 10% of global pollution, and this issue is being addressed in Latvia by the association “Creative Sustainability Platform – Bourzma”. The association aims not only to raise public awareness of sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions in the clothing industry but also to offer real opportunities for transitioning to a greener and more responsible fashion consumption. At the same time, they seek to develop the creative skills of young Latvian artists by organizing various public cultural and entertainment events, such as clothing restoration workshops, art exhibitions, and performances by emerging artists.

The association’s largest event is a two-day festival featuring a fashion show, market, music, and other activities. Additionally, “Bourzma” provides young artists with an online store, infrastructure, and marketing support. The association plans to expand its activities by creating a textile upcycling workshop.

5.) “Let’s Give Paper a Second Chance!” / Sandra Lazdiņa from Jelgava city

In Latvia, the proportion of waste disposed of in landfills is 47.3%. The EU has established that by 2035, only 10% of waste may be sent to landfills. Sandra Lazdiņa aims to tackle this issue with her social entrepreneurship initiative “Let’s Give Paper a Second Chance!” by reducing the volume of paper waste while simultaneously producing eco-friendly household items from paper. Sandra intends to develop an automated paper pulp production facility in Jelgava that can quickly produce high-quality paper pulp and various substitutes for plastic items. The products made from paper pulp are sustainable, highly durable, and pleasant to the touch.

6.) “Krapes muiža” from Ogre Municipality / Janis Baltacs

In the “Krapes manor” area, an active community has formed that energetically works towards the development of the territory and the improvement of the quality of life. During its existence, the community has earned the recognition label “Smart Village 2022”. This year, active residents and entrepreneurs established the association “Krapes manor” with the aim of continuing to improve the surroundings of Krapes manor, the historic Krapes manor park, and to develop rural tourism.

Currently, four businesses are actively operating in the Krapes manor area:

  • The home winery “Lauskis”
  • The farm “Ūdensdzirnavas” which focuses on fish farming, candle making, health tourism, and accommodation services
  • “Skaņumāja” which features a music instrument exhibition, production, and educational events
  • “Parkas” which specializes in raspberry cultivation and producing vitamin-rich products from the berries

The annual Krapes manor area festival has also become a recognized event. The association plans to develop rural tourism offerings by improving the manor park trails and creating a fishing area accessible to people in wheelchairs.

7.) “Health in Every Bite” / Elīna Zandere from Jūrmala city

Elīna Zandere’s initiative “Health in Every Bite” / brand “Legomo” develops wholesome, balanced, and nutrient-rich ready meals to support people recovering from specific illnesses or with special dietary needs. These meals allow patients to meet their daily nutritional requirements in small, easily consumable portions, while also ensuring portion control and the intake of necessary nutrients.

After illness, patients often experience reduced appetite, lack of strength or time to prepare healthy meals, which can be time consuming and burdensome, making it challenging to adhere to specific diets in the long term. These ready meals eliminate the need to cook for oneself, making it feasible to implement nutritional recommendations while reducing the need for additional planning, time and stress management.

The meals are designed to reduce fatigue, improve well-being, and restore energy levels, thanks to the nutrients and antioxidants that combat inflammatory processes, promote healthy cell regeneration, and strengthen the immune system, which is particularly important during therapy and post-surgery recovery.

The “Association for Sports, Education, and Cultural Innovations” aims to improve the limited leisure and sports opportunities for people with visual impairments by offering blind and visually impaired individuals the chance to learn and experience underwater diving in the near future. Specially trained instructors, skilled in working with individuals with visual impairments, will lead underwater diving courses tailored to each participant’s individual needs.

The training will utilize specialized equipment and unique methods, such as verbal communication and tactile guidance in the water. The goal of the association is not only to provide opportunities for people with visual impairments to experience diving but also to boost their self-confidence, promote social inclusion, and improve physical health and overall quality of life.

9.) “3i AGENCY” / Māra Rudzīte from Līvāni Municipality

Māra Rudzīte from Līvāni aims to promote more sustainable thinking and environmental awareness in society, educating and inspiring people to use recycled resources more frequently through practical examples. She plans to establish a company called “3i AGENCY” where “3i” reflects the company’s mission — to Educate, Inspire, and Influence!

The company will offer training programs that foster environmental awareness, space rental, inspiring excursions, as well as tourism and accommodation services in settings that maximally integrate reusable materials.

10.) www.mombee.lv / Jekaterina Zilpauša

The statistics are grim: studies and surveys conducted in Latvia during 2022-2023 reveal that 16% to 37% of women experience violence during childbirth, at least 20% of new parents suffer from postpartum depression, and the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 611 regarding informing pregnant women about important topics such as postpartum depression (67%), the partner’s role in childbirth, breastfeeding initiation, and other critical aspects is not being adhered to.

The platform mombee.lv addresses this crucial issue for new and expectant parents by providing easily accessible and reliable information, as well as emotional and practical support. The goal of the platform is to become a “one-stop shop” where new and expectant parents can find all the necessary information and support services in one place.

Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia, together with Luminor Bank, invites all residents of Latvia to watch the final of the annual Social Entrepreneurship Pitch competition “Let the Good Ideas Grow” on media Delfi.lv on October 17, from 16:00 to 18:00, and to vote for this year’s best social entrepreneurship initiative! The audience vote during the live stream will determine one of the competition winners, who will receive €4,000 cash prize to develop their social enterprise or realize their idea.