Introducing Three New Partnerships with Member Organizations this 2021

The Incubation Network is excited to announce three new partnerships in the Philippines and Vietnam with our member organizations which look to reduce plastic waste, advance a circular economy and improve the livelihoods of informal workers, especially women and girls, with a view to scale. These new projects continue our commitment to catalyzing collaborative action and investment towards improving waste management and recycling systems that prevent the flow of plastic into the world’s oceans.

After two months of reviews and an intensive selection process, we are proud to announce three new partnerships with:

MakeSense on the program – ‘NOYPI 2025’ – No Other Year for Plastic Initiatives: Experimenting for the plastic economy of tomorrow
NOYPI 2025 is a multi-stakeholder coalition study developing systemic zero waste distribution systems to eliminate sachet use in ‘sari-sari’ stores (small retail stores) in the Philippines. Over the next five years, MakeSense will offer its platform to enable all stakeholders involved in and impacted by the distribution of sachets to co-build and co-experiment on an eco-friendly distribution system adapted to the financial, economic, social, and sanitary realities of everyone.

With the likely advent of the phase out of single-use plastics in the country, there exists a considerable financial risk for micro-businesses without an established alternative. This follows the recent announcements by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), around the ban of plastic straws and coffee stirrers with a one year phase-out period.

To avoid the economic repercussions striking micro-business owners, an  urgent push for logistical and business transformation is needed. Doing so will also enable communities of sustainability advocates to lead this circular economy without putting themselves at financial risk.

Villgro on the Ways4Waste Innovation Challenge
Ways4Waste Innovation Challenge is a virtual 10-week program that seeks to support innovators in the Philippines solving challenges at the nexus of climate and gender, with a particular focus on waste management systems and female informal workers.

With a focus on multi-stakeholder engagement and a view to create scalable solutions, the program will take participants through rigorous capacity building, mentoring and design sessions with the highest potential solutions going through a lean incubation journey.

In addition to experts from Villgro and The Incubation Network’s networks, a variety of corporate partners, local governments, local informal workers and other key stakeholders will support the program. This will allow participants to test their solutions on the ground, providing the means for rapid validation.

The Challenge will prioritize immersion for participants, ensuring that quality support, data and resources are available for solutions to be as strong and gender responsive as possible.

Spring Activator on the Plastic Waste Incubator 2021

The Plastic Waste Incubator 2021 is a program that will engage early stage entrepreneurs to establish a viable product and/or service that addresses the plastic waste management problem in Vietnam.

With a particular focus on the engagement of women-led initiatives, the initiative will take participants through guided training on aspects of business development, understanding customer segments, leadership and developing theories of change among many other inputs. Calling on experts in each of these capacity development fields, the program aims to support the growth of high potential ideas to become investment ready.

Leveraging the investment market in the country particularly towards impact startups, the Incubator will have a sharp focus on facilitating a bridge between these communities and high potential entrepreneurs. Throughout the program, there will be workshops and curated sessions by investors on investment in plastic innovations. The two-way exchange will allow investors to access a deeper understanding of the sector, while also supporting the newly incubated startups to have a potential pipeline of investors after the program.

The Incubation Network is excited to collaborate on these partnerships and will be supporting these projects each for six months, starting from May 2021. We will focus on facilitating knowledge sharing and enabling access to a pool of technical experts and mentors. In addition, we will provide practical resources for programs and offer both financial assistance, as well as design support to make the programs happen.

About Partnering with The Incubation Network

The Incubation Network is committed to supporting Entrepreneur Support Organisation (ESO) projects that will source, support and scale ventures working on preventing plastic pollution. If you are an ESO with a similar mission, join the network to explore partnership opportunities with us.