Blend is a mission-led start-up which believes business should be a force for social good. Blend works with social enterprises who employ and uplift marginalized women from patriarchal villages in India to bring elegant products to the urban buyer in Nordics. Our main product line is carpets hand-made with natural materials such as wool, jute, silk and recycled PET. The carpets are made with the same superior weaving technique of Persian carpets but have simple and neutral designs which suit the Nordic design sensibility. By promoting handmade products by marginalized women Blend can impact 11 out of 17 UN SDG goals. We launched in Q2 and already have our products in boutique store in North of Copenhagen. Once we establish market connects, Blend wants to connect designers from Denmark and other Nordic countries to production centers in these rural villages to blend the functional Nordic design with 5000 years old artisanal talent of India. In future, Blend will also explore tech-based leasing options for its high-end home furnishing range. We believe that everyone should be able to upgrade home furnishings without giving-in to consumerism and impacting mother nature adversely. Blend is founded by Shakti, an Indian who has lived in Denmark and worked at many Senior Director level positions in Danish companies like Mæersk, Deloitte and Rambøll. Through Blend, Shakti hopes to bring functional Danish design closer to the 5000 years old artisanal talent of India. When one wholeheartedly loves two countries so diametrically opposite to each other, then it’s impossible to hold back from exploring what a blend of these 2 cultures can offer to the world. Her desire to contribute to women empowerment through livelihood is rooted in her own experience and observation of how girls are still seen as a liability in many rural areas. She spoke about it on the award-winning BBC podcast –Dear Daughter: You are wanted https://open.spotify.com/episode/1FX2Gz0o2TSTG7Ymva9YVz?si=3FcvDo9QQ0GBtOg9MNth2Q