Who will win the SamsungNEXT Startup Competition at Propelify 2017 along with tons of cash, prizes and bragging rights? We’re thrilled to introduce you to the 10 semi-finalists of this year’s Startup Competition. They will be pitching to judges in a showdown this Thursday, May 18th during the Propelify Innovation Festival in Hoboken, NJ. Be there to see who is crowned the winner!
Get to know Kwema, safety jewelry powered by community.
Describe the problem you are solving.
1 in 3 women suffers a sexual assault worldwide, in Mexico 10,000 women are kidnapped every year. Gender based violence is a problem worldwide we found a way to fix this and we are putting our blood,sweat,tears and efforts into making a difference by focusing on prevention technology.
What steps have you taken to validate the market? What traction/revenue can you share? We already have 3 security companies committed to 4000 bracelets in 2017.
Why did you start this company? What excites you about it?
Even though we all come from countries where women’s safety is a big problem, Carmina had a closer experience to this unfortunate matter when one of her friends in Bolivia was kidnapped in late 2014, because of her social status the news spread all over, Facebook feed was all about her, it was so spread out that the kidnappers got scared and let her go in the middle of the road about to cross the border to Peru, which is the cross-point where people are trafficked for sexual exploitation. So, this girl was still drugged but able to walk to the closest town, some locals recognized her, called her family and she was able to go back home. This was a case of how social media and community put enough pressure to save a life, unfortunately not every girl is that lucky. This inspired Carmina to create Kwema. This is a problem our team feels very passionately and know that we can be part of the solution. The progress we have made in under 9 months of life speaks for itself. Kwema was born in June 2016 and has two security companies that put an order for 3000 units total. An iOs and Android app ready V3 of the electronics and the first version of the jewelry. This proves that we are the right team and we can execute as we are mission driven, resourceful and persistent.
Who is your target demographic?
Security Companies are our customers, women are our users.
How do you plan to acquire customers?
We are currently selling directly to security companies, who then add a layer of security with their monitoring service/response service and then distribute to their end clients.
Does your product solve a social good?
Our most important goal is to prevent gender based violence.
Join us on May 18, 2017 in Hoboken, NJ at Propelify Innovation Festival, where 8,000+ innovators from across the Northeast unite for a must-attend day of tech, investors, talks, exhibitors, VR, drones, and music. Register For Propelify Now.
