Ten young and talented teams have been working all summer to develop their urban sustainable business idea. The ideas ranged from circular fashion, sustainable energy to Mobility as a Service (MaaS). The jury was overall impressed with the level of the pitches and the ideas of the teams, some even reaching the Climate-KIC stage 1 accelerator level. After the teams had pitched their ideas the jury named the following winners: Pyropower, second Refillabowl, and a third place for a/b Fashion.
About the winning teams:
- Pyropower
With a decentralised, plug and play, waste-to-energy generator, Pyropower’s technology sits in the intersection of organic waste management, energy generation and sustainable agriculture techniques. In places where these 3 markets coincide, that’s the sweet spot for value added to society and ecology.
The judges were enthusiastic about their effect on climate change, soil improvements efforts, in making a prototype and with their overall pitch. They also loved the well-chosen name. The judges advised the team to think about the roll-out in developing countries. This team also won the expert consultation from ING to sharpen their business case. - Refillabowl
RefillaBowl aims to reduce single-use packaging with a takeaway container you can reuse and return to restaurants.
The judges felt this was a very real problem in urban areas and thus a very large market potential. They advised the team however to further look into the logistics and food safety issue of their idea. And, they felt that this idea would also be perfect for pizza boxes! The in kind prize of a financial expert consultation from Positive Venture group will help this team in their financial analyses. - a/b Fashion
a/b Fashion is a styling service for high quality second hand clothing. Look good, save money; do good, save fashion.
The judges appreciated the entrepreneurial mindset of the team, the clear targeted clients and the huge potential market for this idea. The team could strengthen their position compared to other platforms in this area because there is quite some competition. The market they’re entering is client based, with their individual advisory proposition adding a challenge.
Prizes
The top 2 teams have won tickets to pitch at the Grand International Final where they will compete with teams from more than 50 countries. The third price is a chance for a wildcard for the international final. If you like their ideas just as much as the judges, then please start voting for a/b Fashion via this link. All the 3 winning teams have won a workshop or training from the trainers of Startup in Residence. ING Group and Positive Venture Group provided expert consultations as in kind prizes to help the winning teams to successfully launch their business ideas.
ClimateLaunchpad is the world’s largest green business ideas competition. Their mission is to unlock the world’s cleantech potential that addresses climate change. The competition creates a stage for those ideas. ClimateLaunchpad is part of the Entrepreneurship offerings of EIT Climate-KIC. For more information on ClimateLaunchpad, go to the website.