Two entries from Australia are among the top winners of an annual filmmaker competition aimed at spotlighting small business ingenuity.
The “Ingenious” filmmaker competition, organised by fintech company Pollinate in collaboration with Mastercard, fielded entries from 31 countries including Australia, Canada, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, and showcased the stories and the ingenuity of small-business owners, particularly in how they used technology to reimagine their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The past 18 months have been especially challenging for small businesses – the waves of COVID disruption, economic slowdown and community crises have disproportionately impacted them,” Pollinate said in a statement. “Yet many have responded with great agility, transforming from a local shop to a local delivery service, making masks rather than mugs or producing sanitiser instead of sangria. They’ve connected with the needs of their community in new ways and reimagined what it means to succeed as a small business.”
Itchy Feet Digital and Cheese on Wheels, an Australian cheesemonger, achieved 6th place among the finalists and won $1000. Their entry showed how Cheese on Wheels developed an online marketplace for local businesses to sell and deliver their produce under one platform during lockdown.
Another Aussie entry, from Drishti Videography PYT and HUSTL, showcased how HUSTL looked to take its gym experiences online and started a new online fitness venture that would connect with its audience all around the world regardless of location. The entry won the special “Get Digital” category of the competition and a $3000 prize.
“Our collaboration with Mastercard has created a powerful alliance that is committed to empowering every small business, and we’re excited to shine a spotlight on some of the amazing ways small businesses have been using technology to drive their venture forward during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Alastair Lukies CBE, CEO and Founder of Pollinate, said.
And Andrea Gilman, Global SME Segment Lead at Mastercard, said, “The Ingenious competition spotlights small-business heroes who take on the unexpected and thrive, seeing opportunity in every day to reimagine, refresh and reinvent.
“We’re inspired by the international filmmakers and small businesses who found the silver linings and are charging ahead with digital-first solutions and optimism about the future of their business and the broader economy.”
