An Edmonton-based company dedicated to making more sustainable feminine hygiene products won $10,000 at a pitch competition last week.
Hempact is a women-led entrepreneurial venture focused on creating menstrual pads out of hemp. They aim to provide chemical and cotton-free alternatives to conventional menstrual pads that are both biodegradable and disposable.
“Women shouldn’t have to choose between saving themselves and saving the environment,” said co-founder Sonia Lal during her pitch in the Agriculture in the Technology Age category at Inventures Unbound, which was held online June 3 and 4.
Hempact was one of four Edmonton companies vying for a share of $60,000 in the pitch competition, presented to a panel of expert judges in front of a virtual audience. The winner in each of six categories took home a $10,000 cash prize.
Hempact pitched at Inventures Unbound on June 3, 2020
Three other Edmonton-based companies pitched at the event but did not win:
- 2S Water, which has developed a sensor to detect metals in water in real time, lost out to SensorUp in the Data in the Digital World category.
- Rogue 7 Inc, which offers a digital assistant for control room operators as a solution to monitoring pipelines, lost out to AutonomIQ in The Future is AI category.
- True Angle, which pitched a device-enabled smart training system for people with swallowing disorders, lost out to Goldfinch Health in the Healthier Living, Broader Thinking category.
Other categories included Innovation of Work, won by Moodbit, and Smart Cities, Vibrant Communities, won by Summit Nanotech. The 18 finalists were chosen from over 200 applicants.
Inventures is a Calgary-based tech conference organized by Alberta Innovates. This year’s iteration, which had to move online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, attracted more than 2,000 innovators, investors and service providers from Alberta and around the world.