March 19, 2024, NEW YORK — Orijin has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024. Orijin has earned the ranking of No.4 in the Education category.
This year’s list shines a spotlight on businesses that are shaping industry and culture through their innovations. These organizations are setting new standards and achieving remarkable milestones in all sectors of the economy. Alongside the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies, Fast Company recognizes 606 organizations across 58 sectors and regions.
“This award is a culmination of the relentless efforts of our entire Orijin team,” said Arti Finn, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer. “We are committed to leaving no stone unturned until every individual impacted by the justice system – whether in jails, prisons, parole probation, community corrections, or juvenile detention centers – has access to transformative technology to empower them with the skills to attain sustainable employment.”
With a mission to break the cycle of incarceration by preparing every justice-impacted individual for sustainable employment, Orijin provides incarcerated individuals with comprehensive, no-cost, evidence-based educational and workforce development programs via a secure learning platform. Orijin helps jurisdictions overcome staff shortages to meet their programming goals by delivering customizable and scalable ed-tech solutions, which produce measurable outcomes. Orijin’s Whole Learner FrameworkTM delivers secure cloud-based assessments, plans, and access to a robust suite of educational and skilled trades courses, tailored to incarcerated individuals’ goals, skills, and interests.
Hundreds of correctional facilities across 19 U.S. states use Orijin to support delivery of high quality content to incarcerated individuals, providing them opportunities for earned time credit, building enduring skills and financial literacy, and charting pathways to sustainable employment. Recently, Orijin announced a partnership with Interplay Learning to equip incarcerated individuals with the skills necessary to transition into apprenticeship programs and entry-level trade roles in HVAC, plumbing, multi-family maintenance, electrical, solar, and facilities maintenance post-release.
The World’s Most Innovative Companies stands as Fast Company‘s hallmark franchise and one of its most anticipated editorial efforts of the year. Fast Company‘s editors and writers identified the companies driving progress around the world and across industries, evaluating thousands of submissions through a competitive application process. The result is a globe-spanning guide to innovation today, from early-stage startups to some of the most valuable companies in the world. Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies package is available online, as well as in-app form via iTunes, and on newsstands beginning March 26. The hashtag is #FCMostInnovative.
“Our list of the Most Innovative Companies is both a comprehensive look at the innovation economy and a snapshot of the business trends that defined the year,” said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan. “We saw extraordinary innovation across the board in 2023, but we also saw a handful of clear patterns: the growing footprint and impact of AI, the triumphant return of live events, and great leaps forward in climate tech. We face daunting challenges on many fronts, but the solutions we celebrate in MIC give me plenty of hope about the future.”
Fast Company will host the Most Innovative Companies Summit and Gala on May 16. The summit
features a morning and afternoon of inspiring content, followed by a creative black-tie gala including networking, a seated dinner, and an honoree presentation. This event celebrates the Most Innovative Companies honorees and provides an inside look at cutting-edge business trends and what it takes to innovate in 2024.
ABOUT ORIJIN
Founded in 2014, Orijin’s mission is to rewrite every justice-impacted person’s story, allowing each to re-enter society with renewed career-readiness, re-skilled education, and training through a customized pathway, to rebuild their lives and create sustainable employment. Orijin provides a robust cloud-based learning and communications platform delivered on secure tablet computers in hundreds of correctional facilities across the country. As a public benefit corporation and certified Certified B Corporation, Orijin never charges incarcerated individuals or their families for its technology or services.
ABOUT FAST COMPANY
Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.
