EPlastR, Pulp, and RBNTech successfully graduated from the incubation program of the DAWERR Ideathon 2022 funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This program, held in its second edition, aims to support businesses in the solid waste management sector in Lebanon as they grow and develop.
Meet The Winners
Each of the three winning startups received an in-kind grant of up to $6,500 to finance their market research, branding, design, enhance their Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and register as a legal entity during the incubation program.
The winning teams are:
- EplastR, a startup that focuses on the process of extracting and repurposing polymers from e-plastics
- PulP, a startup that creates low impact building materials from non-recyclable paper waste
- RBNTech, a startup that collects and recycles textile waste into insulation, carpet padding, and furniture fillings
“The USAID DAWERR Activity has so far supported five startups to turn their ideas into viable businesses that serve the environment. DAWERR reaffirms its stand on providing assistance to aspiring entrepreneurs and startups in their endeavors to solve SWM-related challenges in the country,” said Jad Sakr, DAWERR Chief of Party
The Incubation Program
The USAID DAWERR Ideathon 2022 recently concluded its four-month incubation program with a final pitch event, during which participating startups presented their progress and innovations to a panel of judges. The program featured a series of workshops and one-on-one clinics designed to assist businesses in their growth and development in the solid waste management sector in Lebanon.
The operating model workshop, led by Christelle Fakhoury, provided startups with valuable insights on how to optimize their operational planning. The intellectual property and patent workshop, led by Amal Abdallah, gave startups the tools and guidance they needed to turn their inventions into registered patents. These workshops were followed by one-on-one clinics with experts in various fields, including product development with Wael Khalil, finance with Rana Boji, pitching with Andre Abi Awad, business strategy with Ingrid Salloum, Go-to-market with Mohamad Fanous, and legal affairs with Rania Zeidan.
At the end of the program, the startups pitched their progress and innovations to a panel of judges, consisting of Lara El Khoury, Deputy Program Director at Berytech; Jad Sakr, Chief Of Party at DAWERR; Samer Chlouk, Investment Manager at DAI Global LLC; and Rami Sbeih, Co-Founder of Plastc Lab.
Sara Sawaya, Senior Program Officer at Berytech, stated “We were thrilled to support the startups participating in the DAWERR Ideathon 2022 from the beginning of their journey. With the technical support provided, they were able to turn their ideas into a working prototype and make a significant impact in the solid waste management sector in Lebanon. It was an exceptional experience for all of us.”
Berytech organized the Ideathon for the Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) activity funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by ECODIT.
This article is published under the Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR), a five-year activity funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with the goal to establish sustainable and replicable integrated solid waste diversion and valorization solutions in rural areas of Lebanon.
