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Blog
Celebrating our work and achievements
SecondMuse and The Circulate Initiative are proud to announce that our joint initiative, The Incubation Network, has successfully concluded its three-year program to enable and uplift the Asia plastics innovation ecosystem. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us. Click here to read our Key Outcomes and Observations Where we are now… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Making Waves in 2022
We are proud to unveil the Making Waves: 2022 with The Incubation Network report. To date, The Incubation Network has supported 358 startups, resulting in 42,247 metric tonnes of plastic being diverted from the ocean through $2.3 million in funding. Dive into our interactive summary of insights, partnerships, and numerous supported projects that have contributed… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Our work with the Informal Sector
Why building better systems that ensure their dignity and safety can improve recycled plastic supply chains. Informal waste workers and micro-entrepreneurs are the engine room of many waste management and recycling systems around the world. In Asia, it is estimated that they touch over 95 percent of plastics recovered for recycling. In their roles, informal… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Our work with Upstream Solutions
With the right support and resources, innovative solutions can replace single use plastics with more sustainable models like refill and reuse. When it comes to stemming the flow of plastic pollution, it’s clear we need to tackle it at the source. The benefit is crystal clear – reusing just 10% of plastic products can reduce… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Our work with SMEs
Across Asia, there are thousands of small and medium enterprises that work to provide waste management and recycling services. Thousands more have the potential to shift their procurement to become more environmentally sustainable. These companies are overlooked by investors because they don’t create “hockey stick growth”. They are also overlooked by incubation and acceleration programs… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Reflections from The SUP Challenge
Set to make up 70% of food packaging within the next couple of years, the proliferation of single-use plastics (SUPs) is one of the greatest threats facing both ocean and human health in Southeast Asia. Such a huge challenge cannot be tackled alone, so 10 months ago, The Incubation Network reached out to 8 Entrepreneur… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Celebrating our work and achievements
SecondMuse and The Circulate Initiative are proud to announce that our joint initiative, The Incubation Network, has successfully concluded its three-year program to enable and uplift the Asia plastics innovation ecosystem. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us. Click here to read our Key Outcomes and Observations Where we are now… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Making Waves in 2022
We are proud to unveil the Making Waves: 2022 with The Incubation Network report. To date, The Incubation Network has supported 358 startups, resulting in 42,247 metric tonnes of plastic being diverted from the ocean through $2.3 million in funding. Dive into our interactive summary of insights, partnerships, and numerous supported projects that have contributed… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Our work with the Informal Sector
Why building better systems that ensure their dignity and safety can improve recycled plastic supply chains. Informal waste workers and micro-entrepreneurs are the engine room of many waste management and recycling systems around the world. In Asia, it is estimated that they touch over 95 percent of plastics recovered for recycling. In their roles, informal… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Our work with Upstream Solutions
With the right support and resources, innovative solutions can replace single use plastics with more sustainable models like refill and reuse. When it comes to stemming the flow of plastic pollution, it’s clear we need to tackle it at the source. The benefit is crystal clear – reusing just 10% of plastic products can reduce… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Our work with SMEs
Across Asia, there are thousands of small and medium enterprises that work to provide waste management and recycling services. Thousands more have the potential to shift their procurement to become more environmentally sustainable. These companies are overlooked by investors because they don’t create “hockey stick growth”. They are also overlooked by incubation and acceleration programs… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Reflections from The SUP Challenge
Set to make up 70% of food packaging within the next couple of years, the proliferation of single-use plastics (SUPs) is one of the greatest threats facing both ocean and human health in Southeast Asia. Such a huge challenge cannot be tackled alone, so 10 months ago, The Incubation Network reached out to 8 Entrepreneur… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Solutions to plastic waste in Asia
Changing Tides with The Incubation Network | Episode 1 There is bad news and there is good news. Bad news: an estimated 150 million tonnes of plastic are now floating in the ocean — that’s a truckload of plastic being dumped into the ocean every minute, most of it leaking from South and Southeast Asia.… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
How to grow and scale a startup
Changing Tides with The Incubation Network | Episode 2 We often hear about unicorns in the news, but for every unicorn, there are thousands of startups working tirelessly that have yet to find as much success. Today, Southeast Asia is the future of innovation, grounded in strong local entrepreneurial cultures with talented people bringing fresh… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
What startup success looks like
Changing Tides with The Incubation Network | Episode 3 More of us are becoming aware of the severity of the plastic waste issue. Yet, fewer of us are making changes in our lives to recycle, sort our waste, and prevent recyclable materials from entering landfills. How do we close this gap? For one Thailand-based startup,… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Why informal waste workers matter
Changing Tides with The Incubation Network | Episode 4 Few people think about what happens to our waste and where it goes once we throw it away. Did you know that much of this work is carried out by 20 million waste workers worldwide who pick and sort 50-100% of our waste across cities every… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Attracting corporate partners
Changing Tides with The Incubation Network | Episode 5 In the startup world, you will not find a lack of passionate bright minds. From exchanging plastic for lottery tickets to a recycling vending machine, entrepreneurs are offering a variety of solutions to help prevent ocean plastic leakage. However, bright ideas are aplenty. Not every good… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Our key takeaways from the UNOC2022
How we progress on the most under-funded SDG 14 A month ago, I had the honour of attending and speaking at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), which called for action to address the existential threats to our ocean including marine pollution, unregulated fishing and the loss of habitats and biodiversity. The conference — which… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Building networks, scaling solutions
How The Incubation Network helps Thai startups navigate new markets and gain connections Travel through Thailand’s villages or along the back streets of Bangkok and you will see an impressive display of creative energy being channeled into reusing, repurposing and recycling discarded plastics. It is second nature for many Thais to transform such materials into… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Turning potential into prospects
Top Thai startup issues and how to resolve them Have you heard about a recycling vending machine for households to sort their waste? Or an AI that analyzes businesses’ production systems to identify where they can reduce waste? These are just some of the ideas from entrepreneurs who are looking for solutions to combat the… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Ocean Plastic Mapping Toolkit
How do you stem the flow of more than 8 million tonnes of plastic waste — more than double the weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza — that ends up in the oceans each year, and do so in a way that is not only innovative and efficient, but also inclusive and focused on the needs… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Meet the Cohort: The SUP Challenge
26 applications. 8 selected finalists. 6 months of exciting growth and seizing of opportunities. We’re excited to kick off work around reducing single-use plastic waste in South and Southeast Asia, together with over 80 startups that our cohort participants will recruit and support to pilot innovative solutions in key cities, districts and countries. Between April… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Circularity Concepts
The Incubation Network, in collaboration with RRS Asia has launched Circularity Concepts, a learning series that aims to build knowledge of new and emerging issues, materials, policies, and technologies as well as the state of infrastructure for the plastics circular economy in Asia. A five-part series addressing key topics in today’s state of the circular… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Entrepreneurs and sustainable change
Simon Baldwin, Director of The Incubation Network and Global Head of Circularity at SecondMuse, sat down with Jeremy Au of the Brave Dynamics podcast to discuss all things circular economy in Southeast Asia. The conversation explored sustainability in Southeast Asia, how to better connect changemakers with the problems they’re seeking to solve, and how to… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Valuing Thailand's plastic waste
The Incubation Network has expanded to Thailand, and to research the local conditions, we dove deep into the local plastic ecosystem. A few surprises were present – but also a plethora of opportunities, in wait for the right entrepreneur to leverage them. Plastic isn’t simply a wasteful by-product: it’s a resource in its own right.… Continue Reading The Latest
Update
Making Waves in 2021
As the year comes to a close, we reflect on our incredible journey this year with a year-end report, Making Waves: 2021 with The Incubation Network. Not only have we convened a passionate group of people across the private and public sector who are invested in environmental sustainability and social equality, but we have also… Continue Reading The Latest
Blog
Entrepreneurs Have to Align Priorities
In the months since Singapore launched the Green Plan 2030, the country has remained committed to the transition from oil to greener alternatives, despite the ongoing evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has been happening in tandem with rising economic and social tensions. Facing this collection of crises, it can be difficult for entrepreneurs to… Continue Reading The Latest
Update
Exciting 2021 Partnerships
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… Continue Reading The Latest
Update
This was SWITCH 2020!
The Incubation Network is proud to partner with partners with Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH), the leading tech festival for the Global-Asia innovation ecosystem. Together with the Singapore FinTech Festival, SFF x SWITCH will take place on 7-11 December 2020—get ready for this exciting event! The focus this year will be to bring… Continue Reading The Latest
Update
Discover Four New Partnerships
The Incubation Network is a catalyst for action and investment to improve waste management and recycling systems aimed at preventing the flow of plastic waste into the world’s ocean. Our approach centers on creating a network of innovators, entrepreneur support organisations (ESOs), investors, civil society organisations, and government leaders across South and Southeast Asia (SSEA)… Continue Reading The Latest
Resource
Our Approach for Systems-Change
Waste management is a universal issue that not only affects the environment but also human health and livelihoods. It also disproportionately affects the world’s poor. Informal waste workers form the backbone of waste management and recycling systems in low-income countries worldwide, where over 90% of the world’s waste is dumped or burned (World Bank). Despite… Continue Reading The Latest
