Teen CEO wins competition: Sets things up to empower others

43North is a startup competition in a league of its own that has given away more than $5 million to entrepreneurs. Recently, 17-years old entrepreneur Zandra Cunningham won the organization’s collaborative M/WBE business plan competition designed to elevate the profile of minority and women business owners, reports BlackNews.com. It’s called The Pitch, and after pitching her social goods brand, Cunningham was named the $15,000 grand prize winner in the Growth Companies category. On the heels of winning The Pitch, she is also announcing her Day of The Buffalo Girl Summit. A free annual event, it will take place on Oct. 7 at the Buffalo Museum of Science, and is a public-private partnership with the Zandra TLC Foundation, designed to raise awareness of gender issues and empower young women to take action against the status quo through education and entrepreneurship. The one-day event will be filled with workshops, performances and discussions that will engage and stimulate attendees through science, technology, engineering, arts and design, and mathematics (STEAM), wellness and much more. “When girls come together at Day of the Girl Buffalo 2017, they can share their own perspective on what really matters to them and teach themselves, adults, boys, and other girl’s new ways of thinking about gender issues. Using the tools, techniques and help from our network, we hope girls will feel empowered to address their issues and change the status quo,” Cunningham said. The Day of the Girl is an international movement designed to mobilize girls to explore their unique roles in the world.