The threat of climate change looms over on our modern world, and humanity is only to blame.
From unrestrained burning of fossil fuel to
Sustainability is key to our plight. Scientists predict that if we do not find sustainable solutions to our modern, self-inflicted crises, in a few centuries, planet earth could become uninhabitable.
The need for change has pushed many around the world to think outside of the box and to shatter the established systems in search for a way-out.
A few decades ago, the startup scene has seen young entrepreneurs present eco-friendly, sustainable alternatives. Since then, long-established, international corporations as well as governments have been treading similar paths, and although more could be done, these steps, no matter how small, are in the right direction.
Speaking of taking steps in the right direction, Egypt’s 2019 Climate Launchpad National Competition was held last Thursday at the British Embassy in Cairo, and three sustainable, homegrown ideas won.
For those of you unfamiliar with the initiative, it is the world’s leading green business ideas competition. The program scouts for talents in clean, green technology and then helps them grow their sustainable ideas into global, life-changing businesses.
On June 4th, Climate Launchpad partnered up with Youthinkgreen Egypt and the British Embassy in Cairo to provide aspiring Egyptian entrepreneurs with a chance to present their sustainable business ideas to compete for a spot at the Climate Launch Pad international finals.
The program is part of the entrepreneurship offerings by EIT Climate-KIC, the European Union’s innovation program for climate change.
Applicants presented ideas in many fields relating to combating climate change and cleantech development in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency, food and agriculture, water, transportation, as well as industrial technology.
With 13 startup ideas comprising 26 of Egypt’s hopeful youth, the teams went into rigorous training with an intensive 2-day Boot Camp that took place on the 5th and 6th of August at CO-55 working space in Cairo.
Following the Boot Camp, the organizers held intensive coaching sessions, leading up to the National Final, in which three ideas won, but only the first two ideas were chosen to represent Egypt in the Global Grand Final in November 2019.
The first project, Glassolina, upcycles wood and plastic waste products to give out novel, translucent wood plastic composite sheets that could withstand high temperatures. The concept aims to contribute to reducing the carbon footprints of buildings as well as increasing the efficiency of solar sheets.
In second place, came Everhealthy, a green business idea that uses mango fruit kernel to produce
Finally, Re-3d is a project that manufactures furniture from plastic waste filaments using 3D printing technology. The eco-friendly product was found to be a more sustainable alternative as statistics have shown that it uses 65 percent fewer resources and reduces gas emissions by up to 35 percent.
