The programme
The participants went through 14 rigorous weeks of learning with two in-person intense weeks in Berlin. From Canada to Malaysia, Nigeria to China, we had 15 nations represented in our programme working on a wide array of idea areas including corporate engagement, policy change, artificial intelligence, faith-based advocacy, farming transition, culinary engagement, and social media.
The mentors
Besides these changemakers, the Kickstarting for Good programme was also supported by knowledgeable and renowned mentors offering individual feedback and hosting talks sharing their expertise. We were joined in-person by Matthew Glover, Dr. Melanie Joy, Tobias Leenaert, Jay Karandikar, Che Green, Jens Tuider, Lauren Mee, Eleanor McAree, Tim Polkowski, Rick Holland, Lizi Zipser, and Samuel Hilton.Â
The mentorship support was further strengthened during the virtual phase, where mentors Nicoll Parecha, James Ozden, Julia Reinelt, Aneeha Patwardhan, James Odene, Vikki Lenola, and Pia Voltz hosted different workshops and talks for our participants. This was boosted by the invaluable 1-on-1 coaching provided by different mentors such as John Oberg, Matt Tom, Liana Paris, and many more.Â
The topics
The programme covered more than 20 topics such as Market Research, Theory of Change, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, Effective Communication, Branding and Positioning, Fundraising, etc spreading across the whole spectrum from problem-discovery to fundraising.Â
Pitch Day in Berlin
After successfully passing the midterm review, 17 participants were invited back to Berlin for another intense week of coaching and mentorship which culminated in a pitch day where they presented the following initiatives to an esteemed jury and audience.
Meet the graduates of Kickstarting for Good 2024!
Culinary Engagement
My Vegan Africa seeks to educate, inspire, and support chefs, culinary students, restaurateurs and food enthusiasts in Africa to adopt and promote plant-based cuisines, promoting health, sustainability, and community well-being. Founder: Ilunamien Aisedion
Policy Change
Protein Transition Switzerland is a systems change initiative that acts as a field catalyst, driving the shift from primarily animal-based to primarily plant-based proteins by fostering cross-sector collaboration, coordinating activities, and amplifying impact. Founders: Silvano Lieger and Lukas Aeschlimann
InterVeg France is a new trade association of plant-based producers in France who work together to accelerate the demand for plant-based products that are an alternative to animal products, with the main goals of promoting the plant-based category and lobbying for better plant-based policies. Founder: Jessy Baudry and Nicolas Dhers
Corporate Engagement
Vegan Business Tribe is a support community for plant-based entrepreneurs, encouraging them to use their businesses and professional skills to move the vegan cause forward by providing online learning pathways, mentoring and peer-to-peer support for mission-aligned entrepreneurs. Founder: David Pannell
Green Food Planet is a strategy and consultancy firm specializing in sustainability within the food industry that empowers small and medium-sized food producers to reformulate their products, improve resource efficiency, and optimize supply chains to meet sustainability goals. Founder: Patricia Christians
Vegan Business Circle helps businesses that produce and distribute plant-based products to connect with each other and the rest of the market and share knowledge. Inspired by successful business networks like BNI and EO it aims to have chapters in different regions of the world. Founder: Csaba Pentek
Social Media
Xiaobu Vegan Debate Society seeks to create regular and popular debates focused on promoting more plant-based eating through engaging discussions and video broadcasts, blending education and entertainment to engage eco-conscious 18-45 year olds in mainland China. Founder: Monica Wang
TakeCharge.my is a digital media platform, leveraging Chef Dave’s three million social media followers, that combines health education with community challenges focused on empowering Malaysians to take control of their health by promoting plant-based diets as a solution to the country’s growing health crisis. Founder: Chef Dave
Faith-Based Advocacy
Animals and Islam is a strategic and impactful social media channel that fosters empathy for animals through heartwarming stories, educates about the extreme cruelty in animal industries, and raises awareness of the environmental ramifications of animal farming through an Islamic lens to advance plant-based living within the western Muslim diaspora. Founder: Zehra Abbas
Pillars of Peace will train Imams on important animal and food topics within Islam, empowering them to educate their respective communities through targeted workshops, an existing network of mosques and collaborating with Islamic nonprofits to engage other Imams. Founder: Altamush Saeed
Farm Transition
European Farming Transition Network aims to facilitate the evolution of commercial farms from animal agriculture to alternative streams of revenue by connecting farmers with other stakeholders and creating opportunities for farmers along the entire value chain. They are initiating this by creating a strategic blueprint for farming transition in collaboration with farmers, policymakers, researchers, businesses and NGOs. Founders: Patricia Sundstrom, Kerri Waters and Silvere Dumazel
Artificial intelligence
Encompass AI is a movement-building organisation that aims to strengthen capacity and grow the community of people who want AI to work for both nonhumans and humans through events, 1:1 outreach, presentations at conferences, a knowledge hub, digital content, and PR. Founders: Ronen Bar and Frankie Andersen-Wood
Electric Sheep will form education-industry partnerships, host hackathons, and build a practice community dedicated to AI-driven animal welfare (“S-risks”) by fostering collaboration between technologists, researchers, and civil society. Founders: Ash Singh and Jay Luong
Meta Fundraising
Plant Based Professionals aims to engage and activate professionals working in corporate environments who are aligned on a plant-centric future, providing them with resources and knowledge on the types of actions they can take in their institutions, ranging from introducing new plant-based products to raising funds for impactful charities. Founder: Deep Dhillon
We’re incredibly proud to support these inspiring change makers and look forward to meeting the class of 2025!
