February 3,2019, Nairobi. Three winners emerged from the 2019 TOMMY HILFIGER Social Innovation Challenge held at the Tommy Hilfiger headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The winning companies are Selina Wamucii of Kenya – a platform for Africa’s smallholder farmers, AUF AUGENHOEHE of Germany and doctHERs of Pakistan.
Each company was required to present their solution and show how it is creating scalable positive social impact. Seven finalists booked a place in the finals of the Tommy Hilfiger Social Innovation Challenge after going through a rigorous evaluation process among thousands of applicants who had applied for the challenge in early 2018.
Tommy Hilfiger, part of PHV Corp, is one of the world’s leading premium designer lifestyle groups with the Tommy jeans and the Tommy Hilfiger brands under its wings. Through the Hilfiger collection, Tommy Hilfiger Tailored and TommyXGigi, the clothing company manufactures and retails a wide range of premium apparel around the globe in women’s, men’s as well as kids’ sportswear, accessories, footwear and denim. In a bid to expand the company’s horizons and explore new opportunities the company now also sells other lifestyle products including swimwear, watches, eyewear, socks, small leather goods and fragrances.
Selina Wamucii was started in 2015 and has grown quickly to establish itself as a trusted partner for positive impact among Africa’s smallholder communities including cotton farmers who play a critical role in the early stages of the fashion value chain.
The panel of judges for THSIC included Mr. Tommy Hilfiger (Founder and Principal Designer), Daniel Grieder – CEO, Tommy Hilfiger global and PVH Europe, Martin Hagman – CFO & COO, Tommy Hilfiger global and PVH Europe, supermodel Arizona Muse, Filipe Santos – Full Professor and Chair of Social Entrepreneurship at Católica-Lisbon and Visiting Professor at INSEAD, Katrin Ley – Managing Director of Fashion for Good, and Willemijn Verloop – Founder and Director of Social Enterprise NL (the Dutch National Platform for Social Entrepreneurs). The audience session was moderated by pitch coach David Becket who is also the Founder of Best 3 Minutes.
To explain the purpose of the competition described as a ‘global initiative that aims to support entrepreneurial start-up and scale-up stage businesses that are developing solutions that have a positive social impact on the fashion value chain’, an official statement released on the company’s website read: “Our brand has a strong history of mentoring and supporting talented individuals who have the drive to turn bold ideas into a reality,” said Tommy Hilfiger.
“The future success of our industry depends on proactively discovering and nurturing innovative projects that can create real social change. The TOMMY HILFIGER Social Innovation Challenge is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on incredible ideas that could change the lives of people through a more positive and inclusive fashion landscape.”
