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HOUSTON — The Houston Community College and the University of St.Thomas have launched a program to help military veterans become entrepreneurs at no cost.
The program — called the Veterans Entrepreneurship Program (VEP) — also receives support from numerous well-known corporations such as Microsoft, Wells Fargo, and The McNair Foundation.
After a competitive selection, five military veterans were chosen for their business ideas:
- Fatima Lewis: She plans to set up a company to reduce plastic waste by converting that material into stylish footwear. Also, she wants to build a facility that will help improve her low-income neighborhood's life.
- Aiyenede Akhigbe: She chooses to manufacture healthy jam using natural ingredients and no preservatives under Sticky Spoons Jam's brand. All the natural ingredients are from Michigan farms. The company will use the prize money to set up a licensed kitchen so it can exist under the Michigan Cottage Food Law.
- Tony Clement: He is an organic farm enthusiast who pitched Prolific Farms. He plans to use a vertical farming system to grow organic vegetables and fruits.
- Marilyn Harris: Her idea is the Women Veterans Pandemic Pivot Project (WV-PPP). She aims to provide financial support and mentorship for building an interactive platform to aid female veterans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Jocelyn Williams: She pitches CRJ Communications to produce and execute digital content marketing for B2B Software as a Service (SAAS) clients.
Each finalist has ten minutes to describe his or her pitch. The first winner will win $5,000. The runner-up and the third winner will receive $3,000 and $2,000 respectively.