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Announcing the Winners of the 2019 Greenpreneurs Program

Seoul, Republic of Korea, October 4, 2019 – After an intensive 12-weeks for the shortlisted candidates to develop their business proposals, consult with their mentors, and participate in weekly webinars on how to finance and scale-up their green enterprises, the winners of the Greenpreneurs 2019 program have been selected.

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), Student Energy, and Youth Climate Lab are pleased to congratulate the three winners of the 2019 Greenpreneurs Business Pitch Competition:

Isdabest (Philippines)

Team: Nicole Cruz, Seanne Esguerra, Iliana Tan, and Dominique Sy

Project concept: A sustainable seafood and coastal community empowerment model

GGGI Core Theme: Sustainable Landscapes

Description: Isdabest empowers coastal communities through the co-creation of self-sustaining seafood hubs with restorative and resilient ocean farming. They train and work with local fisher-folk to install and operate sustainable non-fed “mariculture” farms of seaweed and shellfish. Isdabest works with a network of buyers and markets to manage stable revenue that is shared with the local fishing communities. The Isdabest model is a scalable solution that focuses on market-matching, low-cost aquaculture, and social franchising with plans to grow across the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Kimuli Fashionability (Uganda)

Team: Juliet Namujj, Sarius Kiggundu, JohnMary Kavuma, Zahara Nakabaka, and Agnes Nabagala

Business Concept: Upcycling plastic waste and employing persons with disabilities.

GGGI Core Theme: Green City Development

Description: Kimuli Fashionability is transforming the plastic waste crisis in Africa into employment opportunities for persons with disabilities through an upcycling fashion label. They train and employ local persons with disabilities to collect and wash plastic waste and tailor them with traditional African fabrics to create beautiful garments and accessories. Kimuli aims to address the issue of plastic while also bringing awareness to and empowering persons with disabilities, who are often disenfranchised and faced with stigma and little prospects for employment in their community.

Rento-Rewa (India)

Team: Kajol, Megha Nath, Amitosh Gautam, and Devinder Singh

Business Concept: An online platform to facilitate the distribution of recycled water

GGGI Core Theme: Water and Sanitation

Description: Rent-o-ReWa (Rent on Recycled Water) is an online platform to reorganize the wastewater market in urban India with the aim to reduce freshwater intake. They will work with various suppliers to source treated wastewater and organize the delivery of recycled water to users with non-potable water needs. Rent-o-ReWa is partnering with local water utilities to strengthen the wastewater supply chain, establish market linkages, bring acceptance for recycled water, and reduce freshwater intake.

The three winning teams were all founded by innovative women with from diverse backgrounds, all with the ambition to bring positive impacts to their communities. As women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change, it’s crucial to recognize the importance of women’s leadership and innovation in developing new solutions. Among the 15 shortlisted teams for this year’s competition, over half of them were led by women.

Later this month, a selected representative from each of the above-mentioned winning teams will fly to the GGGI HQ in Seoul to receive their award and pitch their business at the GGGI General Council Meeting during GGGW2019.

As the reward for winning the competition, the three winning teams will each receive $5,000 USD in small-scale seed funding to assist them with scaling up their enterprises into the next stages.

About Greenpreneurs

Greenpreneurs is a twelve-week global green entrepreneurship accelerator and competition open to youth between the ages of 17 and 35. Youth may submit their idea for a solution that positively impacts the future of sustainable energy; water and sanitation; sustainable landscapes (forestry and agriculture); or green city development. The goal of Greenpreneurs is to unlock, accelerate and support the natural innovative tendencies of youth to foster a generation of climate and development leaders that are collaborative implementers of green solutions.