While Naomi Vowells and her sister, Frances Atkins, were both on maternity leave, they started a side hustle that later expanded into a fast-growing company, reaching global markets.
First, they set out to create personalized children’s books intended for their own children. But later, he got requests from other people, asking him to create books for their children as well.
“So, what we have decided is, for every book we sell or buy, we will donate a percentage to a children’s literacy programme,” says Swaras. Women’s Agenda.
Then, not long after, corporate clients emerged to appeal to other kid-focused brands inquiring about Sister’s children’s books.
“They were ordering in bulk from us and they used the books as marketing tools,” says Swaras, adding that these customers send books to influencers along with other kid-centric products like baby formula.
“At that time, the sisters were thinking, ‘It’s great that these big companies are coming to us, it’s a women-led business, and they’re making an impact through us by donating to children’s literacy foundations,'” says Swara.
That’s basically where his business idea started. The couple realized there was a need for a service that would allow companies to easily find good deals to buy that also create a positive social or environmental impact through ethical practices.
Their business is a deliverable, AI-powered platform that automates due diligence for supplier and supply chain sustainability.
Proudly family and female-founded, it utilizes robust data and AI models to scan over 2,500 sources across diverse sustainability and ESG categories. It enables organizations to find, discover and track suppliers’ verified sustainability initiatives, ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the supply chain.
Starting in Australia, Voices says the pair repeatedly heard about companies wanting to work with local businesses or women-led businesses or other social and eco-friendly brands but didn’t know where to find them or how to vet them. That businesses are truly sustainable. Naomi voices at RISE Sydney Immersion Week in April 2024
Achieving goals with sustainable business practices
Go back in time, just four or five years ago, Vowels says, where sustainability wasn’t seen as a priority for many companies. Instead, these companies may have seen sustainable practices as “favorite” or happy-go-lucky.
“It’s a new concept for companies,” he says. “They’re used to doing due diligence on their suppliers and their partners from a credit risk perspective, from a reputational risk perspective, from a legal perspective, but doing it from a sustainability perspective and still is. A relatively new concept.”
Now, there are often mandatory regulations or reporting requirements surrounding sustainable practices, but Tones says “there is a very strong link between (a business’s) supplier’s sustainability performance and (their) organization’s sustainability performance”.
Tones wants more businesses to understand the multitude of benefits surrounding sustainable practices, including reaching net zero, meeting targets such as social procurement targets or DEI targets.
“A great example of that is emissions,” Vowels says. “A lot of companies’ emissions are in their supply chains.”
“If you’re not working with your suppliers and doing due diligence on your suppliers, you’re never going to be able to achieve a net zero goal. Because if 80 percent of your emissions are related to your suppliers, you know you have to work with the right ones to get to net zero.”
RISE Accelerator Program
givvable was selected to participate in the India Australia RISE Accelerator program that is growing beyond Australia, bridging both national markets.
The nine-month program provides support to startups and small-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working in innovative technology and considering overseas expansion between India and Australia.
“Even our face-time with Indian companies, learning about the Indian market and how things work in the sustainability space, in the waste management space, was really valuable,” says Vowells, who is currently taking it. The program is part of the circular economy cluster.
“Because (insight) is coming from organizations that work on the ground, in those sectors, in those areas that concern us.” Naomi Vowels (middle) at RISE Sydney Immersion Week in April 2024
The RISE Acceleration Program is delivered by CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Institute in partnership with NITI Aayog – Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), a flagship initiative of the Government of India to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
Swaras credits the program for opening many doors for them and providing them with a platform to market and commercialize in the Indian market thanks to appropriate support and access to networks that they have been able to tap into.
In each round, new startups and new startups and SMEs with solutions to pressing climate and environmental challenges – from waste and circular economy to climate smart agriculture – are supported to help them fast track their innovations in the alternative market. .
Applications for the RISE Accelerator Program are now open. To know whether you are eligible for the current Agritech round or future rounds, go to: https://riseaccelerator.org/
Growth is a ‘marathon, not a sprint’
The Indian market– as large as it is– is particularly relevant to Givevable’s growth, with new legislation emerging in the country that requires some of India’s largest companies to report on the sustainability of their upstream and downstream value chains.
“They need to do an assessment of 75 percent of their customers and suppliers,” Vowels says. “So it’s pretty broad. It goes beyond just the supplier. It also goes to who they’re selling to.
“For us, it’s a pretty important piece of legislation. The solutions we have and the data we have directly complement that.
“We see a really good fit with the Indian market,” he says, adding that jurisdictions like the EU, Australia, UK and the US are looking at areas of similar legislation for companies where they need to demonstrate sustainable action.
However, despite this exciting growth, Swaras knows that getting to this point as an entrepreneur is a “marathon, not a sprint.”
“It takes time for companies to get to know your company, get to know your value and get to know your value proposition,” he says.
“It’s really important to create long-term partnerships (and) long-term value for your existing customers.”
“You’re thinking you’re going to be in and out in a year, but it’s a long-term commitment—the rewards pay off in spades, but yeah, like I said, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Applications for the RISE Accelerator Program are now open. To know whether you are eligible for the current Agritech round or future rounds, go to: https://riseaccelerator.org/