Diamonds Do Good Announces Its 2024 Entrepreneurship Grant Winners
The grant provided a total of $100,000 to support 13 entrepreneurs from diamond communities in Africa and India.
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Over a live Zoom ceremony on July 17, DDG awarded $100,000 total, with individual awards ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to each of the 13 winners.
“Diamonds Do Good is thrilled to continue its support of entrepreneurs who hail from communities where natural diamonds are mined, cut, and crafted into exquisite jewelry,” said Nancy Orem Lyman, executive director of DDG.
“Our entrepreneurship grant winners embody the spirit of entrepreneurship and the power of innovative ideas to create positive change. We thank all our supporters from the diamond industry who make it possible for Diamonds Do Good to make these life-changing grants.”
The 13 winners are: Salamatu Conteh, Monkgogi Moshaga, Tresia Shituula, Mohamed Kamara, Matsepo Sello, Habib Turay, Mohamed Samu, Zephania Zakayo, Christian Mwijage, Jerusa David Kitoto, Sumit Ghosh, Risto Kandela, and Ayesha Tijueza.
The grant winners were chosen from six of the diamond-producing countries in Africa and India, and are in industries such as agriculture, education, electronics, and energy.
Since the program began in 2021, DDG has provided entrepreneurs financial aid to scale their businesses and increase their societal impact, said DDG.
The program is managed through United People Global (UPG) and its president, Yemi Babington-Ashaye.
UPG runs sustainability leadership training for “young changemakers” in over 100 countries and works on local projects to address the 17 Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations.
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