Necker pitch winners to split $200k

After a live pitch contest this month on Necker Island, two homegrown ventures working on environmental solutions took top honours during Unite BVI’s 2025 Impact Challenge.

Block Works VI and Report the Reef were selected from among six finalists and will receive a combined $200,000 in funding through the Sir Richard Branson-backed VI Purpose Fund, along with a year of incubation support intended to help them scale their ideas locally and abroad.

“Yesterday’s winners show how bold ideas can deliver real benefits for people and planet,” Sir Richard said after the Nov. 4 pitch event. “This challenge proves that the Virgin Islands is brimming with talent.”

The winners

Block Works VI, led by Virgin Gorda entrepreneur Hubert Akeem Lennard, is working to revive local concrete block and paver manufacturing in an eco-friendly manner.

The company, which will receive $120,000 from the contest, mixes recycled glass sand into its materials to cut waste, reduce imports and strengthen the territory’s circular economy, according to a press release from the VI Purpose Fund.

Mr. Lennard, who also founded Greencrete VI, has more than a decade of experience in sustainable building materials.

Reef defender

Report the Reef — developed by Kendyl Berna and Chris Juredin of the VI nonprofit Beyond the Reef — uses technology to field real-time reports of marine incidents like illegal anchoring, waste dumping and destructive fishing. After field teams verify the reports, the organisation uses them to “support environmental liability claims and habitat restoration” across the territory, the release states.

Block Works VI and Report the Reef will now enter a 12-month programme run by Unite BVI and its partners.

The support package includes milestone funding, technical mentorship, pilot partnerships, and monitoring to measure environmental and economic impact.

The 2025 Impact Challenge, which was funded by the VI Purpose Fund and delivered by Unite BVI, sought solutions in four areas: sustainable fisheries, ecotourism, coastal resilience and eco-waste management.

Six finalists

Forty-five initial concepts moved to the full application stage, and six finalists pitched their ideas to judges including fund founders Sir Richard and Rick Kearney, according to the press release.

Other finalists included Dylan Penn and Mathew Holt of Vistas Marine, Aragorn and Zanti DickRead of Sea Soil, Anna Orchard of the Green Yachting Co., and Claudius Rymer of VI Fishing.

The finalists will receive continued advisory support, according to the press release.

Mr. Kearney, a Florida entrepreneur who decided to make the VI his home after purchasing a residence on Mosquito Island, praised the teams behind the winning ventures.

“We have been truly impressed by the ideas that came before us, and I personally cannot be more excited to see Block Works VI and Report the Reef ’s bold vision turn into reality,” he said.

Unite BVI Executive Director Kim Takeuchi said both ventures represent the territory’s creativity and resilience.

“We’re excited to work alongside both businesses over the next year and believe that their business ideas will make a significant impact in the BVI,” she said.

The VI Purpose Fund, backed by Sir Richard and Mr. Kearney, aims to “back purpose-driven entrepreneurs building a regenerative blue economy” in the VI, the release states.