First place winners of the Charger Innovation Challenge are Blake Andrew and Zackary Hacker. The final presentation for the Charger Innovation Challenge was, April 21.
The Charger Innovation program seeks to offer young entrepreneurs an opportunity in proposing a business idea, gathering contacts, creating a business model and being provided with a modest startup bonus for winning the competition.
This year’s finalists were teams Biodegradable Shotgun She, Clamp Sheet, M.I.A, Perfect Pair and Skoolies. Each participant took home a commemorative coin for their participation, but only the first and second teams won a cash prize. Team Clamp Sheet won first place and eight-hundred dollars, and M.I.A won second and two-hundred dollars.
Winning first place, Blake Andrew and Zackary Hacker composed Team Clamp Sheet. The Clamp Sheet is a hydraulic attachment for forklifts. This device combines a push-pull attachment with a hydraulic clamp attachment. By combining these two attachments, the forklift gains the ability to extend and retract its loads.
Following with second place, Amaya Ayona Marie McFadden, Thompson Makayla G. Rivers and Idraiah Elyse composed Melanated in America, or M.I.A. This business is a subscription-based, beauty and fashion service tailored to black women. The business model plans to focus on giving back to the black community by donating 5 percent of its proceeds back into the community. Sourcing materials from black owned businesses and holding entrepreneur workshops for single mothers are two ways the M.I.A plans of giving back.