Entrepreneur Aaliyah Marandiz Wins $100,000 At ESSENCE Festival Of Culture’s New Voices + Chase Pitch Competition

Ten Black women entrepreneurs earned their share of $250,000 in funding for their businesses thanks to the New Voices Foundation and JPMorgan Chase.

This in-person pitch competition, held on Saturday, July 2 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, awarded one (1) grand prize of $100,000; (2) $50,000; and (2) $25,000 cash grants, combined with personalized business skills development, coaching, and mentoring for six months post-competition. 

Designed to help women of color-led businesses navigate the current climate and find solutions to the challenges they face, the New Voices + Chase Pitch Competition empowers entrepreneurs to create, launch, and grow their businesses.

The biggest win of the day —$100,000 to be exact—came courtesy of the brilliant mind of visionary Aaliyah Marandiz. Her company, Sugardoh, is a Texas-based company on a mission to make compostable sugaring paste your favorite at-home hair removal method.

The $50,000 winners included Jordan Karim, Founder of Flora and Noor, an inclusive skincare brand with halal, vegan, and cruelty-free products and Pauline Igdohgo, Founder of Mocktail Club, a line of premium crafted sophisticated and healthy non-alcoholic cocktails.

The $25,000 winners were Shunta Grant, Founder of The Best Today, a brand that equips women with resources to be proactive and intentional with their time, and Jasmine Marie, Founder, Black Girls Breathing, a safe space for Black women to manage their mental health through breathwork and community..

In addition to capital to fund their businesses, the winners will be guaranteed placement in the Fall 2022 Madam CJ Walker PACE (Purpose. Access. Capital. Expertise.) Bootcamp powered by Babson College, helping to ensure the long-term viability and sustainability of these enterprises.The $100 million New Voices Fund, is a next-generation fund making private equity investments in businesses owned or managed by women of color. To keep up with all the life-changing work the New Voices team is doing to support, empower and elevate Black women entrepreneurs, click HERE.