If there is someone you would like to add to the list, please email us directly. Please see our shortlist below!
Charlotte Shalom Bannerman & Esther Bannerman-Aina – Strokes of Africa
Charlotte Shalom Bannerman founded her company, Strokes of Africa, alongside her sister, Esther Bannerman-Aina. Both Charlotte and Esther attended Brunel University which is located in Uxbridge. Charlotte graduated from the university with a degree in Computer Science, whilst her sister Esther studied Financial Mathematics.
Strokes Of Africa is an independent company, aiming to spread the story of Africa globally through artwork. The business specialises in original, hand painted pieces of contemporary art which comes directly from various artists across Western Africa.
The desire to create Strokes of Africa was stimulated by the lack of African artwork which is currently showcased within the creative industry. Strokes of Africa have partnered with multiple Ghanian artists in order to simulate and showcase the vibrant and creative industry which exists in Ghana, aiming to bring this into the hearts of the customers’ home.
Through each painting, the sisters share different stories from the artists across Africa. They are committed to their artists and ethical trading: reinvesting into the Africa’s creative community.
Thomas Fudge – WASE
Thomas Fudge is the founder of WASE, and he graduated from Brunel University in 2017. The company aims to tackle a key environmental issue: every day, 2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools’ worth of water enters the environment untreated. WASE understands that this form of pollution is having severe negative impacts on the environment, with the pollution destroying water society’s water systems.
Every year, the United Kingdom sends 7.2 million tonnes of unavoidable food waste to landfill. This then causes the release of various greenhouse gases into the environment as it decomposes.
The solutions provided by WASE allow customers to increase the value of their waste. This means that the company is contributing to increasing sustainability in the future and help to end the environmental pollution which can be caused by untreated water.
Currently, using WASE is the smallest, cheapest and most efficient way to effectively treat organic waste onsite. WASE provides waste treatment onsite, meaning that is is a viable option for customers who are constrained by space. In addition to this, WASE is able to treat more waste on site and aims to not produce waste by treating waste. This can create savings for the customer and also take the guesswork out of the waste management process.
Seffie Wells – aidie London
Seffie Wells MSc, a graduate of Brunel University, founded aidie London (aidielondon.com) in 2018 and has since gone on to receive 49 international awards for product design, entrepreneurship and social enterprise. After raising her baby alone in a domestic abuse shelter with few resources, she noticed a gap in the market for footwear that supports toddler development.
Harnessing her background in Psychology, she launched what is now a multi award-winning international enterprise, aidie London. The luxury British baby brand makes the world’s only first walking shoes designed by experts in infant development to actively enhance Cognitive function in babies as they learn to walk. Endorsed by leading London Podiatrists, their footwear is the winner of a string of industry awards for design innovation.
At only 3 years old, the brand holds over 30 international awards and was voted the UK’s ‘Most Trusted Baby Brand of 2019’ as well as being named the UK’s ‘Best Baby Footwear Brand’ for the last three consecutive years, receiving an award of recognition for contribution to industry at the House of Lords. Having featured in Forbes, Yahoo! Finance and Tatler, aidie London works under the UN Business Programme for sustainable development and is committed to environmental sustainability. As such, all products & packaging are 100% biodegradable or recyclable.
With a focus on protecting and supporting babies, in 2021, Seffie launched sister charity The Aidie Trust (both organisations were named after Seffie’s baby whom she entered refuge with, and who inspired the company). She then transitioned aidie London into a social enterprise, donating 40% of profits from every sale to the charity. The Aidie Trust works alongside domestic abuse refuges throughout the UK to supply baby essentials, grants and care packs in the form of life-changing interventions for mothers of babies in domestic abuse shelters throughout Britain. For more information and to donate, visit idietrust.org
Carlton Cummins – Aceleron
Carlton Cummins graduated from Brunel University in 2015 and has founded his own company, Aceleron.
Aceleron aims to design and manufacture products that can meet the needs of society in both the present and our future. The company is guided by principles of circular economy. They have designed battery technology to help society power life: Essential. This is the world’s first battery to be designed and manufactured that is entirely maintainable and also capable of upgrades. It also has more capacity than ever battery previously has.
The Essential has been designed based technology which has patented compression. This means that it’s ‘Core’ can be easily taken out of the box to be exchanged for one which is newer, and it can also be improved to provide customers with a battery upgrade. The battery can also be completely serviced and returned to the customer as an entirely renewed product. This should also mean that the battery has an extended life, helping to reduce waste and minimise any potential environmental impacts.
If there is someone you would like to add to the list, please email us directly.
