Pictured Above, (l-r): NaChe’ Thompson of NACHE Innovations, LLC (IEWBC InnovateHer winner); Michelle Skiljan, IEWBC; Alice Bellanich, Green Harmonies (CVWBC InnovateHer winner); Congresswoman Norma J. Torres

Riverside, Ca. –  The Inland Empire Women’s Business Center is pleased to announce NaChe’ Thompson of NACHE Innovations, LLC as the winner in their locally hosted competition for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2017 InnovateHER Challenge.  The Challenge seeks products that have the potential for commercialization, have an impact on the lives of women and families, and fill a need in the marketplace.

For more information on the Challenge, visit the SBA’s website, sba.gov: https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/2017-innovateher-innovating-for-women-business-challenge/

Ms. Thompson is the designer and manufacturer of Noki Baby Bottle Adapter, a new patent pending product designed to take the mess and stress out of formula feeding on the go, using ordinary water bottles.

• Related:  8/2016, Rialto Mother Creates Nokï Baby Bottle Adapter

Intellectual property attorney, Tina Loza of Loza & Loza, shared that “It was such an honor to participate in the judging of the InnovateHer competition.  The ideas brought to the table were game changers and the IEWBC brought us some amazing ideas to look at that will certainly improve the lives of women.  It was a difficult decision but the judges felt the Noki Baby Bottle Adapter best met the criteria set forth by InnovateHer.”

Ms. Thompson’s entry will move on to the national competition, along with other winners from local InnovateHER competitions nationwide. National finalists will have the opportunity to present a live pitch to a panel of expert judges and compete for up to $70,000 in cash prizes provided by Microsoft. The final round will be held in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

The winners for both IEWBC and CVWBC were announced by Congresswoman Torres on June 1 at the Inland Prosperity Conference. 

The Inland Empire Women’s Business Center, 3780 Market St. in Riverside, is a program of the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship at Cal State San Bernardino.  Housed in the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration, IECE, which administers the program in collaboration with the U.S. Small Business Administration, is inland Southern California’s leading organization dedicated to supporting and promoting entrepreneurship. The IEWBC provides business counseling, training and mentoring designed for women business owners. 

The Inland Empire Women’s Business Center hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday by appointment only. For more information, visit the IEWBC website at www.iewbc.org or contact Joelle Passerello or Michelle Skiljan at (909) 890-1242.

Set in the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, CSUSB is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in inland Southern California. Celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2015, CSUSB serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually. CSUSB is listed among the best colleges and universities in the western United States, according to The Princeton Review, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report and Money Magazine.

For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.