Ten solutions from Lebanon have been selected to move on to the next phase of the Green Applied Research & Innovations Support Program, giving these green innovators and researchers additional tailored support to grow their green startups.
The 10-month program is in the context of the EU-funded Green Impact MED Project (GIMED) under the ENI CBC Med programme. It was launched in January 2021, with 20 startups joining an initial 2-month capacity building program designed to support them in developing their green business models and finance and market strategies.
Phase 1: Green Capacity Building
”The first phase of the program did not only provide knowledge and work with the 20 projects on turning their green ideas into businesses, but it hugely focused on addressing the root causes of the environmental and social challenges, solving them, and ensuring more circularity in the life cycle of the product\service and waste reuse,” explains Tala Saleh, Programs Manager at Berytech.
During that first phase, the 20 startups went through a 2-month capacity building program tailored to support them in developing their green business models, access to finance and market strategies.
“I really enjoyed working closely with the first cohort of eco-entrepreneurs under the GIMED program. It was inspiring to see so many young and not so young, motivated Lebanese wanting to make a change by launching their green startup ideas, especially given the current challenging circumstances. Using the newly developed SwitchMed green entrepreneurship online platform and methodology facilitated the process, in particular its eco-design tool,” details Maya Karkour, founder and environmental consultant of Circular Hub and Eco-Consulting.
Meet the 10 Finalists
After concluding the GIMED Capacity Building phase, 20 entrepreneurs pitched to an expert jury panel that selected the ten entrepreneurs who will continue in the next acceleration phase of the program: The Green Coaching Support phase.
“The team and I were proud to note how challenging it was for the jury to select the ten innovative solutions that will move on to the second phase of the program. The hard work, team spirit and innovation were the foundation of the selection where the most promising solutions focused on solving environmental challenges existing today and driving a green and circular economy in the region,” comments Saleh.
The pitching teams were screened based on their value proposition, their innovation, the applicability of their technology and intellectual property, their green business model and scalability potential, their environmental and social impacts, their implementation capacity, and finally on their pitch effectiveness. Here are the 10 finalists:
- Sofra produces natural and biodegradable single-use plates and bowls based on citrus and garlic processing wastes to replace single-use plastics in cutlery and packaging applications.
- Froz is a community-based E-commerce platform that gives access to many eco-friendly products while highlighting each product’s impact.
- KwikPak Shelter is ready to deploy emergency housing units for quick mobilization and rapid response.
- Lebanon Waste Management is a solution tackling the recycling of plastic and sand glass turning them into tiles and bricks.
- Lebanese Drug Box is a drug take-back program that aims at providing a safe and convenient place to responsibly dispose of unused or expired medicines.
- Partners with Sun! is a solar convection oven that saves fuel and electricity that can be used in dairy production, bakeries, fruit drying, cans, juices, and limitless usages.
- Roxxic for design and construction is an eco–friendly provider of affordable and customized industrial designs and construction appliances made of crushed stones.
- Urban Hives is a low-cost, lightweight, modular structure, erected above car height, providing a shaded area for parking beneath and garden space above.
- Vscenic is a smart application for an electric vehicle charger with the ability to adapt the application to different chargers and smart features helping reduce the load on the circuit.
- Wave aims to reduce commuting and pollution problems by introducing affordable electric bicycles, starting with a pilot in Beirut.
Phase 2: Green Coaching Support
During the second phase, the participants will benefit from tailored support and group coaching sessions which will prepare them to run their first funding round, potentially scale to international markets, ensure an environmentally friendly lifecycle across their product/service, and train them to pitch in front of investors.
The coaching phase will end with a pitch and network event with investors where only four projects will be selected to receive a 7,500 euros subgrant incubation prize and three months incubation support. Two of the four selected projects will then get the opportunity to participate in additional cross–border events.
About GIMED
Berytech is the official partner of The Green Impact MED Project – Positive Investments for Positive Impacts (GIMED), an EU-funded project under the ENI CBC MED Programme aiming at supporting green entrepreneurs to better access finance and market in the Mediterranean. The project provides training, coaching sessions, capacity building workshops, and sub-grants to consolidate green business creation and green business development. Learn more about the GIMED Project.
