Top three startups tackling South & Southeast Asia’s plastic pollution accelerate sustainable and local solutions via CIJ

• The winning startups were part of The Incubation Network’s first virtual Circular Innovation Jam (CIJ): an eco-friendly innovation sprint event that whittled 400 participants down to 25 startup teams with 75 mentors from 5 countries;

• Winning startups can tap into a strategic ecosystem of investors, civil society organisations, and government leaders across the region to drive investment, innovation, and partnerships;

• CIJ is supported by global organisations and judges from Circulate Capital, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Coca-Cola, Danone, PepsiCo, United Nations Development Programme, and the WWF.

 

SINGAPORE – Three of South and Southeast Asia’s startups pioneering local innovations to solve the region’s plastic pollution problem have received strategic support and cash prizes to scale their solutions as the inaugural Asia winners of the Circular Innovation Jam (CIJ) by The Incubation Network.

The winning startups are Growing Plastic (Indonesia), developers of earth-friendly bubble wrap made from banana peel; Rebricks (Indonesia), manufacturers of disposable sachet packaging into robust paving materials; and Evlogia Eco Care (India), who employ rural women to create biodegradable straws from fallen palm leaves. 

“60 percent of all plastic pollution in the ocean comes from five Asian countries. This problem needs tailored solutions which consider local economics, business hurdles and cultural nuances. A virtual event, with local experts on hand, meant we could engage and include remote and diverse communities in new ways,” said Stephanie Arrowsmith, heading the team behind the Circular Innovation Jam and Director at The Incubation Network. 

 

CIJ – an innovation sprint event by The Incubation Network which first launched in Singapore 2019 – planned to run the in-person jam over 48 hours in 12 cities across 5 countries, but moved to a virtual event amidst COVID-19. This enabled more than 400 participants – over half of which were women, which is 2.5 times as many female founders as the global average –  to dial in from all over South and Southeast Asia, including rural and remote island communities, such as the Sumatran region of Aceh and island of Flores, Indonesia, and the “coffee land” of Chikmagalur, India. 

CIJ is designed to accelerate early-stage ideas, and foster a network that coordinates local efforts tackling the global issue of plastic pollution. As locally-grown solutions, Growing Plastic, Rebricks and Evlogia Eco Care can now tap into The Incubation Network’s strategic region-wide ecosystem of investors, civil society organisations, and government leaders to drive investment, innovation, and partnerships.

“Our winning startups are revitalising traditional approaches in Asia to extend resource use across the product lifecycle by creating solutions that meet the needs of their local community and context. I’m excited to watch their growth as they scale their local ideas to a global stage,” added Arrowsmith.

 

Participating startups are taught how to best incorporate circular economy methods, creating equal opportunity through including all genders, and amplifying impact through their businesses, to create just and improved local waste and recycling systems. Circular economies mark a return to traditional Asian values of resourcefulness and are often more efficient for all stakeholders: from consumer to manufacturer.

Tafia Sabila, Co-Founder, of Growing Plastic said, “We entered the Circular Innovation Jam with just an idea and have already progressed to a Minimum Viable Product. With this prize, we can invest more in our research, build partnerships within our Jakarta-based community and trademark our proprietary product.”

Joshy John, Operations Lead of Evlogia Eco said, “We have learnt so much throughout this process, and will use our winnings in a circular way, by setting up three more factories across rural India that will employ local women. By automating the production of our straws, we will double output to 10,000 straws per day.”

Ovy Sabrina, CEO of Rebricks said, “Through CIJ, we learned a lot from the fantastic mentors and community who challenged us to think differently. The experience has deepened our understanding of bringing our product to new levels. We can now add new product lines as part of our mission to provide the materials to build sustainable homes, from the ground up.” 

 

Winning startups were chosen based on the creativity and inclusivity of their innovation, the specificity with which they tackle the issue of plastic pollution, and the potential impact and scalability of their solutions. 

 

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About Circular Innovation Jam 

The Circular Innovation Jam is an innovation sprint event by The Incubation Network that brings 500+ participants including mentors, expert speakers, and facilitators from India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam together to jam about the problems that plastic pollution poses to their local context. 25 finalists were selected to develop their ideas under the guidance of 75 mentors for 6 weeks, before three winners are announced, and granted a cash prize to scale their ideas. The 2020 virtual Circular Innovation Jam took place over July 18 – 25. Winners were announced September 29 2020. For more information visit: www.incubationnetwork.com/circular-innovation-jam-2020

 

About The Incubation Network

The Incubation Network by SecondMuse and The Circulate Initiative is a catalyst for action and investment in the circular economy that aims to prevent the flow of plastic waste into the world’s ocean. The Incubation Network has created a connected network of innovators, investors, civil society organisations, and government leaders across South and Southeast Asia to design and deliver programs that drive investment, innovation, and partnerships for inclusive and gender-responsive waste management and circular economy solutions. 

The Incubation Network is open to interested collaborators, corporations, and mentors, looking to advance inclusive circular economy innovations in South & Southeast Asia, and to partner to work towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. For more information visit: www.incubationnetwork.com