Start-up

Embracing the sharing economy with a practical innovation

Szilvia Szabó — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 16:43:27 +0000

Embracing the sharing economy with a practical innovation

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Circular Economy

Sharing Economy

Start-up

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Sharing Economy

When you need to use a tool, the first thought that probably crosses your mind is to buy it, which in some cases means adding something to your storage space that you`ll only use once or twice.

The concept of a Tool Library is built on the idea that instead of buying and then not using things, you could borrow items when you need them.

Tool Libraries have gained popularity in recent years as a way of embracing the sharing economy, which is good for your pocket and the environment.

“Honestly, how often will you use a drill?” asks Anna C W de Matos, CEO and Founder of the Circular Library Network (CLN) based in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Her team created a solution that provides innovative self-checkout hardware library systems to municipalities and organisations worldwide and is in the process of scaling.

She adds that an average drill is only used for about 12 minutes in its lifetime but has thousands of minutes of capability.

Asking a friend or family member to lend such an item to you can be complicated, considering what would happen if something went wrong, potentially affecting your relationships.

Tool Libraries are offering an opportunity to share items instead of buying. Image: CLN

The ultimate goal of the Circular Library Network is to make it easy for people to borrow and share various items while reducing waste and promoting sustainability.

So let`s say you borrow a drill in our system. You can be sure it was checked before you take it, ensuring that it is in good condition, but also, you won`t be responsible for the tool forever. If something breaks, it can be repaired or replaced.”

This automated system is designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind, making it user-friendly, reliable, and customisable to meet unique needs.

At this stage, they are moving from being a tool library to becoming an infrastructure provider, helping other institutions to create their own sharing libraries.

“The way we are doing it in Reykjavik is if something breaks or needs to be replaced, we ask for a donation from the user and find the best alternative for replacement on the best price or second-hand item in good condition, trying to keep the cost to the minimum.”

Their user model runs on a subscription base, so members can check what items are available and use what they need, when they need it.

Founders of the Circular Library Network, Sébastian Nouat, Kristofer Henry and Anna C W de Mato. (from left to right)

The idea to design a borrowing system was born from Anna's experience of moving to Iceland in 2017 after living ten years in the UK.

“I realised that I don`t know anyone. I didn`t really have anything of my own, so when I wanted to put some holes in my wall and couldn`t afford to buy or rent a drill, I thought there must be a better way of doing this.”

She started to research and found out about the tool libraries, most specifically the Toronto Tool Library, which was at the time the biggest one with four locations.

“I contacted them and arranged a visit to Canada to find out more about running it and learn more insights. After returning to Iceland, a health issue forced me straight to the hospital, spending three weeks there.” Anna used her extra time to take action.

“My body was sick, but my mind wasn`t, which led me to start a crowdfunding campaign with a terrible website. But it worked, and by the time I left the hospital, I raised the funds I needed to start.”

In 2020, after getting an innovation grant to design a prototype, Anna approached Sébastian Nouat and Kristofer Henry to come on board with the development process, and they became Co-Founders.

Shortly after launching, they raised about 500 items to be added to their tool library, calling it Munasafn, which stands for collection of stuff in Icelandic and is about to change now to be called the Circular Library Network (CLN).

Initially, it was a struggle to keep opening hours, and when COVID hit, they decided to automate the process, trying to create hardware to match the software that could handle the lending and returning process.

“By now, we have developed a completely modular infrastructure that operates as a white label system, so once you become a partner, you can do everything for yourself, from branding to starting your own membership and so on, using our method.”

From the business point of view, they realised early on that they had to find a viable financial model that would allow them to work on this full-time and take it to the next level.

One of the first steps was to go through the Climate-KIC accelerator program for circular cities, which was pivotal in figuring out what to do with the whole idea.

They came up with a sort of franchise system that can be used by organisations such as actual libraries or other institutions and even other tool libraries that want to reach locations where they don`t necessarily have the human resources.

“We also developed our own social platform where our clients can get peer-to-peer support and access best practices, with an opportunity to contribute to a road map that would help determine where we are heading with the project.”

At this point, they are actively collaborating with five institutions in seven locations to build up their systems, including Germany, the US, Switzerland, and other places.

A critical area to handle in bringing her idea to life was finance, and Anna admits that it hasn`t been an easy road to secure funding.

She participated in several accelerators, attended dozens of business conferences, and went through a tough process to identify the type of financial solutions and investors that suited their goals.

“I spent a whole year educating myself on investment since I had to decide on funding, and after doing four accelerator programs, still, it wasn`t clear what we gain or lose with various agreements and conditions.

I did the Greentech Europe accelerator for women-led startups in Europe working on sustainability products delivered by Village Capital, which was one of the best I took part in as they did go into more details about finance.”

She highlights that it would be crucial for any founder to have an in-depth knowledge of financial options to make good decisions regarding funding their ideas.

Anna had to overcome many challenges and face many uncomfortable situations before gaining total confidence in the solution they offered.

Recalling the ups and downs of her fundraising journey, she says: When you start meeting with investors and pitching your idea, you need to learn not to take things personally.

"At first, I cried when they turned me down.

But I kept consistently doing it, attending business conferences and talking to investors and others while I repeatedly heard a standard sentence: `You don`t fit into our portfolio strategy`.”

One factor that made it difficult for Anna to attract investors is that their solution is hardware-based, and everyone is looking for digital software solutions.

“It is an overwhelming process, and no one will be there holding your hands, saying what you need to do, so you must become confident on your own.”

Battling her way through the investor landscape was a steep learning curve that led her to change her attitude and approach things differently.

The Circular Library Network is now scaling its operations in five countries. Image: CLN

Now, she can stand up for herself, seeing investors` relations in a different light, saying that you need to find the right match with an investor and let go of others who are not interested or don`t understand what you are doing.

“You will enter a long-term relationship with an investor, so you should better be on the same page from the start.”

She says that things take a turn once you cross that line within yourself to feel genuinely confident, not just pretending to be confident. But you need to go through getting punches and build yourself up.

Besides the personal journey, Anna also decided to focus on onboarding clients early to prove that this idea has a space on the market.

As it turned out, she was right, as they are in the process of securing funding to scale their model and impact while also looking for further investments.

Also, they decided to split activities between the NGO format and the social enterprise, which offers a great structure to focus on community building and education while building up a business model for selling the infrastructure for running tool libraries.

Looking at the following steps, she hopes they can build a team and expand their operations.

Introducing a circular solution is still not obvious, as everyone is still debating how a circular economy should work, but practical solutions such as CLN are definitely a significant step forward.

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“There is such potential for startups to solve some of the world’s biggest problems”

Bronagh Loughlin — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:47:34 +0000

“There is such potential for startups to solve some of the world’s biggest problems”

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Insights with Ashley Shak

Head of Sustainability and Innovation Programmes, Dogpatch Labs

I’m probably one of the few people at Dogpatch who hasn’t worked either at or with a startup previously. My academic background is in international sustainable development, which means that up until recently, my professional experience was primarily within the public sector.

I’ve worked for countless NGOs, non-profits, and government and UN agencies around the world. A lot of people may think that someone working in the non-profit sector versus the startup world is like night and day, but there are a lot of similarities in the personality type that succeeds in both industries.

For instance, there’s a huge amount of passion driving the company or organisation forward, paired with a hugely disproportionate lack of money.

These days at Dogpatch, I can call upon my experience in the development sector to work in similar areas, such as emerging markets and ‘reverse innovation’.

I think, eventually, the non-profit sector will play less of a role in international development, and the problems that need solving will be addressed by startups.

The potential behind using a startup as the solution means the business model can be scaled to other countries facing the same issues and have the money to deal with it.

Ashley Shak Head of Sustainability and Innovation Programmes, Dogpatch Labs

The impact that startups can and will have on the global markets and communities is an unknown quality with huge potential, and I’m looking forward to playing a part in the change here at Dogpatch.

It has been a driver for me to have as wide of an impact as I possibly could because I knew there were so many people out there who wouldn’t have the same opportunities that I have been afforded.

I was lucky enough to travel a lot during my childhood due to having such an international family, from the Netherlands to Brazil and Hawaii. I saw firsthand how different people lived around the world, and it impacted the kind of person I wanted to be, the subjects I studied, and the jobs I took.

I wanted to take advantage of that and chose a field where I would directly put back the work into communities that needed it most.

Sustainability has always been at the core of international aid and development, but it’s only recently become the hot topic to focus on in the tech world.

Now that I work with startups and in tech, I see my job as spreading the understanding that sustainability is way more than just the “green stuff”.

In an industrialised and developed economy like Ireland, it’s easy to focus solely on decarbonisation and net zero goals. However, social issues must not fall to the side.

It is our duty as professionals in the tech space, as individuals with power and resources, to have that positive impact.

Before working at Dogpatch, I was with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the UN agency working with the private sector, specifically on corporate sustainability.

When I started looking for a job in Ireland, I learned Dogpatch was about to launch a sustainability initiative, the 2050 Accelerator. This was a match made in heaven since I had been running global sustainability accelerators with the UN for the past couple of years.

I started as a programme manager, and that role evolved over the last year into my recent promotion to Head of Sustainability and Innovation Programmes.

Dogpatch has never had a Head of Sustainability before, but it became apparent that this type of role was needed as our organisation started to play an even bigger role in the space.

Each one of our programmes has a sustainability aspect to it, as our corporate clients all have an overarching sustainability strategy for which they will be held accountable.

I hope that in the future, my role won’t be needed anymore. I envision sustainability becoming so integrated into the daily operations, programmes, and strategy of our company that there doesn’t need to be one single source of truth or expertise in that area.

The 2050 Accelerator is one of the most exciting programmes I’ve ever worked on, and it’s been extremely rewarding to welcome the positive reactions since it launched last spring.

The idea behind this program is that we can have a huge impact on global sustainability goals by accelerating the adoption of new technologies from startups around the world.

2050 Accelerator program launch in Spring 2023. Image: Dogpatch Lab

We want to make Ireland a testbed for sustainability innovation by recruiting global startup talent to work with Irish corporate partners.

By pairing them together, we’re enabling corporates to trial new innovations while startups find a new route to market via new partnerships.

Operating alone, startups may struggle with finding the resources, time and customers to validate and improve their technology.

The 2050 Accelerator facilitates this, and the demand for this type of programme is super high.

What sets the 2050 Accelerator apart from other sustainability programmes out there is the focus on business development for startups.

Through the accelerator, we offer startups the priceless opportunity of partnering up with a corporation to develop paid pilots that will validate their tech.

By focusing on ensuring we can create pilot projects, we are making sure we have a real-life and measurable impact during the accelerator.

For example, BladeBridge, a startup that repurposes wind turbine blades into sustainable infrastructure, began working with ESB through the 2050 Accelerator.

Through the programme, they developed an e-mobility hub to charge and store ESB’s expansive network of e-bikes.

By utilising decommissioned wind turbine blades instead of virgin steel, they support vital key objectives aligned with ESB’s Net Zero goals, such as decarbonisation, the circular economy, and empowering customers to live more sustainably.

BladeBridge is repurposing decommissioned wind turbine blades into sustainable infrastructure. Image: BladeBridge

Collaborating with ESB in the 2050 Accelerator also means that we are connecting startups who need access to wind farms, telecommunication poles, e-mobility hubs, and more for their pilots. What Ireland lacks in geographical size, it makes up for in its connectedness.

That is something that Dogpatch has tapped into since its inception, working to create the most connected tech ecosystem in Ireland (and beyond!).

That connectedness is something that will become increasingly important in our efforts to tackle sustainability issues that plague all industries, markets, and communities.

Our response to climate change will have to be quick, efficient, and extremely risky, and these are all characteristics that startups and entrepreneurs embody every day.

Hearing about the most recent political conflicts, natural disasters, or social justice issues in the news can negatively affect the newest generation of business leaders.

The relentless grit and ambition of an entrepreneur are why there is such potential for startups to solve some of the world’s biggest problems.

We had a minister come in and speak at one of our sustainability events and told the audience that with every new policy and regulation his department introduced, that was an opportunity for an entrepreneur to create a new startup.

This is the type of thinking that will propel Ireland forward as a testbed for sustainability innovation, with Dogpatch creating those synergies between government, industry, and startups to get us there.

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Alarming global decline in investing in impact businesses

Climate Journal reporting — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 14:26:04 +0000

Alarming global decline in investing in impact businesses

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Data concerning a significant global slowdown in venture capital funding in startups primarily working on climate tech, renewable energy, circular economy, and social justice projects has been revealed in the Impact Startups 2023 report presented at the international ImpactFest event in the Netherlands.

The research published in November by ImpactCity and Dealroom.co predicts about a one-third drop in investing in impact startups that are addressing one or more UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) globally compared to 2022 levels, with over $41 billion in funds raised in 2023, so far.

"The impact investment landscape is suffering from the increased interest rates and global economic slowdown. Impact funding has decreased in line with the rest of the market, so looking narrowly at this year, we are not seeing it outperforming other investment themes,”

says Lorenzo Chiavarini, Venture Capital Research Lead & Impact Specialist at Dealroom.co.

The Impact Startup 2023 report predicts significant drop in VC funding in the impact ecosystem. Source: Dealroom.co

These findings also feed into the worrying development that none of the 17 UN SDGs are on track to be achieved by the original deadline in 2030, which will also be discussed at the upcoming COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference in November in Dubai.

However, Chiavarini highlights that “zooming out in the last ten years, impact funding has grown 12x, more than twice the rest of the market”, saying that they “are confident Impact will start outperforming the rest of tech again in the coming years".

Despite the heavy decline, climate tech and affordable energy companies have been found to be at the forefront of unlocking investment while solutions addressing social challenges are least funded, according to this recent study that analysed the database of 17,000 impact startups.

One of the alarming trends showcased was the dramatic drop in funding for circular economy startups in fashion from its peak in 2021 at $1.8 billion to $140.8 million in 2023 at this point, despite the enormous environmental impact of the fashion industry.

The research found that Europe is leaving the US behind in becoming the leading impact investing destination while proving to be more resilient in the downturn, with the Netherlands` over-index on impact on top of the ratings compared to the European average.

Europe has taken the lead in attracting VC funding for impact businesses. Source: Dealroom.co

"It's stunning to see Europe becoming the top destination for venture capital impact investments for the first time ever. Europe has always been more impact-oriented than other regions like North America and Asia, now attracting nearly $15B of impact VC funding,"

Chiavarini adds.

Numbers also revealed that low and middle-income countries are lagging behind in attracting impact investments, securing only a minimal 5 per cent share of global impact funding even though they are most vulnerable to climate change impact and hosting over 50% of the global population.

Despite the report, the leading European annual impact event, ImpactFest, has sustained its popularity since 2016 among investors and startups, combining 'doing good and doing business', presenting solutions, and learning and networking opportunities to shake up the investment landscape.

ImpactFest is hosted by ImpactCity, an ecosystem builder supporting the development of impact companies. The event is traditionally held at the Fokker Terminal in collaboration with the Municipality of The Hague, Unknown Group, and KplusV and empowered by various partners, including Rabobank and B Lab.

ImpacFest is the leading European annual impact event. Image: ImpactCity

Headline Image: Unsplash

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Using tech for transparency in fashion

Bronagh Loughlin — Thu, 18 May 2023 13:26:02 +0000

Using tech for transparency in fashion

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Clothing and textiles are a fundamental part of our everyday lives and a vital sector within the global economy.

However, our current means of making, consuming, wearing, and discarding clothing is evidently no longer working. According to Business Wire, sustainability is rated as a vital purchase criterion for 60 per cent of consumers across the globe while they are demanding transparency from brands and looking for green credentials.

However, according to the Fashion Revolution 2022 Fashion Transparency Index, 50 per cent of the world’s biggest fashion companies disclose little or no information about their supply chain.

Only 12 per cent of fashion brands across the globe offer information concerning their raw material suppliers.

Without transparency, shoppers struggle to assess a brand’s environmental and social footprints and determine whether its statements are genuine or greenwashing.

What could bridge the transparency gap between eco-conscious consumers and fashion brands?

Can it be as simple as a QR code?

An Irish start-up, Ecode, thought so when they came up with the idea to empower consumers through their app to scan, learn, get rewards, connect, repair, recycle, and ultimately, change fashion.

Ecode was founded by three students, Elise Vens, Emmet Lowry and Nathan Gaborieau.

The three met during their Master’s in Sustainability at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), where they extensively studied the fashion supply chain's detrimental social and environmental effects.

Ecode founders Elise Vens, Emmet Lowry and Nathan Gaborieau.

They make an international team as Elise is from The Netherlands, Nathan is from France, and Emmet is Irish.

Elise Vens, Co-Founder of Ecode, explains how their initial idea took off: “We immediately pinpointed circularity as the driver of change and started working on a tool that would give shoppers more insight into what they're buying while empowering the consumer to be an actor of the change.

We realised this greatly benefits fashion brands in determining the lifespan of their items and increasing their products’ durability.

By gaining insight into these life cycles, Ecode has the power to help brands monitor their CSR improvements. Hence, our slogan became ‘enabling circularity in fashion’.”

In November 2021, the Ecode team participated in Trinity’s Provost Challenge, a three-day hackathon whereby students were challenged to ideate and develop a business idea where they came second.

Speaking on why they chose to focus on fashion specifically, Elise says: “For one of our courses, we had the opportunity to research the social and environmental impact of the fashion industry.

We were shocked to find out that this industry is the second-largest polluter on earth after the oil industry. A few weeks later, Trinity’s Provost Challenge was announced with the theme ‘How do you combat fast fashion?’.

We immediately realised this was our cue and submitted our idea for Ecode. Ecode can fundamentally change the fashion industry for the better, from a linear consumption towards a circular model of doing business.

We’ve recognised that the barrier to transformation is frequently not a lack of will but rather a lack of accessibility and connections between actors.”

Ecode`s solution is based on using QR codes in fashion items to increase transparency and circularity. Image: unsplash

Elis adds: “Ecode aims to integrate the entire landscape of actors in circularity. We connect stakeholders such as brands, consumers, recyclers, repairers, and resellers.

Ecode is not only offering a QR code, but an entire ecosystem that can collectively create change by interacting with one another, bringing the option of circularity to everyone’s doorstep.”

Afterwards, they decided to apply for Trinity’s LaunchBox Student Accelerator 2022 and were awarded the first prize, which provided immense validation for their project. In January of 2023, they received the Acting for the Environment Prize from Enactus France, an international social entrepreneurship project presentation competition for university students.

Currently, their biggest challenge is developing a BETA version of their application that can be replicated and quickly implemented in different companies to kickstart their revolution towards circularity in fashion. However, the team plans to overcome this hurdle and has big hopes for the project’s application.

Elise explains their plans further:

“Our goal is for Ecode to become the first thing that pops into the mind of consumers when they have to purchase, recycle, and repair clothing.

By making these processes easier for the consumer, we aim to drastically change consumer behaviour. In the next three years, we hope that everyone in Ireland and the rest of Europe will have heard of Ecode and that we will have a growing number of users.”

The amount of textile waste in the EU has doubled over the past 20 years.

With Ecode, the team hope to increase the number of clothes put back into circulation by up to 60 per cent in stores.

They also wish that by informing consumers about the impact of products, they can indirectly reduce the pressure on the planet by placing more environmentally sound products in the spotlight.

Headline image: unsplash

This article is an extract from content originally published in the Circular Economy in Action special edition of the Profit with Purpose Magazine - you can read the full article and other features in the magazine.

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Szilvia Szabó ⬤ Author

Journalist, Editor

Innovative sustainability startups to meet in Germany

Business Spirit News reporting — Sun, 02 Oct 2022 14:40:37 +0000

Innovative sustainability startups to meet in Germany

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Europe's largest B2B fair for sustainable innovations takes place in Germany for the second time.

With seven innovation areas and approximately 2,500 visitors, IMPACT FESTIVAL is returning on 5-6 October in Offenbach, Germany, to discover the latest trends and innovations in the field of sustainability, and discuss the digital and sustainable transformation.

More than 170 startups will present their solutions at the exhibition area, and over 100 investors will be present to scout the market for best-in-class projects.

Around one hundred expert speakers will share their thoughts on why and how the business sector must rethink existing strategies and practices in light of climate change. Speakers include Anna Christmann, Member of the German Bundestag, Beth Thoren, Director of Environmental Action, EMEA at Patagonia, and Wolfgang Gründinger, Chief Evangelist at Enpal.

Attendees can choose from fifty master classes with a deep dive in fields like clean tech, resource efficiency, data management or sustainable finance.

"We are thrilled to host the second edition of IMPACT FESTIVAL and to have more than 100 speakers on stage with more than 170+ of Europe's most promising sustainable innovations.

We look forward to connecting thought leaders, innovators, investors and corporates and accelerating the green transformation of businesses and our entire economy,"

said Mara Steinbrenner and Linda Köpper, lead organisers of IMPACT FESTIVAL, in a joint statement.

The IMPACT Award celebrates and honours European startups that tackle current social challenges by using technology and innovation.

The IMPACT Award ceremony will also be part of the program on the first day's evening.

The award celebrates and honours European startups that tackle current social challenges with the help of sustainable technologies and innovations.

Nominees are listed in different categories, such as Education & Social Innovation, Hardware Solutions and Platform & Software (SaaS) Solutions.

In addition, enterprises will have the chance to win the votes of participants to take home the Audience Award.

As a hybrid event, people can attend in person and online. Day tickets and further information are available on the event’s website.

The IMPACT FESTIVAL collaborates with ClimateSeed, a company running decarbonisation projects, to ensure that the CO2 emission and waste associated with the event is as little as possible.

To achieve this goal, they offer exclusively vegan catering with reusable containers, use FairCup with no plastic bottles, and cooperate with service providers to align their operations.

In addition to the annual two-day event, the project also provides a platform that connects key stakeholders from the sustainability ecosystem to network and exchange ideas all year round.

The IMPACT FESTIVAL is a project of the early-stage investor and innovation unit of Commerzbank Group, which investigates future technologies relevant to business and society while promoting and developing sustainable and digital solutions.

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Call for entrepreneurs driving circular city transformations

Business Spirit News reporting — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 12:47:33 +0000

Call for entrepreneurs driving circular city transformations

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Start-up teams with innovative circular economy solutions in urban areas are invited to apply to the Circular Cities accelerator program.

The Circular Cities ClimAccelerator public-private initiative offers an extensive programme and funding for entrepreneurs driving the transformation of cities to become more sustainable and climate-resilient.

Start-ups are invited to submit their projects focusing on a circular solution in the textile, food, tourism, mobility, construction sectors and other relevant areas.

“The Circular Cities ClimAccelerator helped us not only to connect to other leaders in this area, but also to connect to relevant stakeholders such as cities to create valuable partnerships,”

says Dominik Campanella, Co-Founder of Concular, and participant of the previous Circular Cities program.

Proposed business solutions need to be scalable in urban areas, particularly to the markets of the partner cities of the program, which includes Dublin, Berlin and potentially other large cities.

Selected teams will go through three stages: working on their business strategy, market validation, and investment readiness.

At the first stage, 25 teams will be supported with €3.000 per team, then 15 teams will continue the next phase when they will each receive up to €15.000 grant.

The final module will be an invite-only option for the best ten projects to present their ideas to investors.

Application is open until 10 April to enterprises with an advanced business model and minimum viable product with a legal entity registered no longer than five years in Europe.

The duration of the program is eight months, starting on 25 April and closing with a demo day on 02 December 2022.

The Circular Cities ClimAccelerator program is managed by Climate-KIC, Luvent Consulting GmbH, DTU - Technical University of Denmark, UPS, Trinity College Dublin, Trinity's Ideas Workspace, Veolia and primeCROWD investment group.

Headline image: CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

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Dutch Impact Accelerator program open for applications

Business Spirit News reporting — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 12:51:22 +0000

Dutch Impact Accelerator program open for applications

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Start-ups who combine ‘doing good and doing business’ can join an intense hybrid program in The Netherlands that will enable them to grow faster.

Two key players, ImpactCity The Hague and Startupbootcamp launched a joint initiative focusing on increasing the growth of sustainable start-ups in The Netherlands and strengthening the position of The Hague as the leader in building the impact ecosystem in Europe.

The ImpactCity Accelerator program is open to impact innovators already based in or those planning to establish themselves in The Hague.

“The city invests in an attractive climate for start-ups and has acquired a recognizable economic profile with ImpactCity,” says Saskia Bruines, alderman at the Municipality of The Hague.

Ten selected start-ups will get the chance to work on de-risking their value proposition and find the best way to solve a problem while also focusing on their growth strategy to scale their model.

Introduction of the ImpactCity Accelerator

The intense hybrid program will take place mainly online but will also use the facilities of ImpactCity The Hague for in-person activities.

Mercedes de Miranda, Director of Business Development at Startupbootcamp see The Hague as an outstanding place ‘when it comes to the number of impact start-up entrepreneurs who work for a better world.”

She highlighted that they came on board as partners based on their overwhelmingly positive experience at the ImpactFest in 2021, the flagship event of ImpactCity and the largest event in Europe where sustainable, innovative parties come together.

Application is open until 11th March, and sessions will be held from April to the end of June.

Throughout the three months, entrepreneurs are matched with mentors and get the chance to access a worldwide network.

At the final Demo Day event, participants get to present their work to ImpactCity, investors, potential partners and other stakeholders.

Headline image: ImpactCity The Hague

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First Impact Syndicate in Ireland to invest €10M in sustainability start-ups

Business Spirit News reporting — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 20:46:37 +0000

First Impact Syndicate in Ireland to invest €10M in sustainability start-ups

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Angel invetsors in Ireland will provide funding and supports to enterprises building on environmental, social and governance factors.

The Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) is launching a new Impact Syndicate aiming to collectively invest €10M in Irish enterprises focusing on ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) factors besides traditional financial returns.

The Impact Syndicate will be officially launched at the online All-Island Conference on 2 February 2022.

Over the next three years, the syndicate will consider pitches from start-ups located in Ireland focusing on climate, agri-tech and food supply chain, energy, blue economy, health and cleantech.

L-Faye Walsh Drouillard, co-chair of HBAN Impact Syndicate; R-Julian Seymour, Syndicates Manager, HBAN

“Investors and entrepreneurs alike want to make a meaningful impact.

The global focus on ESG has created a market with almost boundless opportunities for growth, and we want to help Irish businesses to be a part of that story,” Julian Seymour, Syndicates Manager, HBAN, said about the launch. Seymour added that HBAN Impact Syndicate aims to support ground-breaking innovations that integrate ESG factors into their core business.

Based on the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimations in 2020, the global market for Impact Investing reached up to $2.1 trillion in assets under management and that continues to grow.

Faye Walsh Drouillard, impact investor and co-founder of WakeUp Capital, will co-chair the syndicate and become the first female chair of a HBAN syndicate.

“Impact investing provides exciting financial potential for investors, while also enabling them to make a difference in the community and even the planet,”

says Walsh about the importance of this step.

“I am passionate about supporting entrepreneurs to drive real social and environmental change, and impact investing is central to this.”

Walsh has been involved with impact investing throughout her entire carrier and feels that by co-chairing the Impact Syndicate with highly experienced WakeUp Capital co-founder Mark Peters, they can facilitate growth in this area in Ireland. Besides helping sustainability start-ups scale, the syndicate also encourages angel investors to get involved.

At the All-Island conference, HBAN will host sessions focusing on impact investing and demystifying angel investment, which they hope will encourage existing and first-time angel investors to join their network and consider its Impact Syndicate.

Speakers at the conference include Marcia Dawood, chair of the Angel Capital Association in the US; serial entrepreneur Norman Crowley, founder of Crowley Carbon; and Loretta McCarthy, whose investor consortium Golden Seeds backs early-stage female-led businesses in the US.

HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network) is responsible for promoting business angel investment on the island of Ireland and a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Invest Northern Ireland.

Headline image: Pexels

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Dating app for vegans and vegetarians breaks record with over half a million users

Business Spirit News reporting — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 17:28:59 +0000

Dating app for vegans and vegetarians breaks record with over half a million users

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Specialised dating app taps into growing plant-based diet trends to reach over two million pair matching.

Veggly, a global dating app designed for vegans and vegetarians, has revealed that they doubled in size since late 2020, reaching over 500,000 users worldwide.

The unique matchmaking platform was created to help people prefer a plant-based diet to find love or simply connect with like-minded peers.

Commenting on the new user milestone, Founder of Veggly, Alex Felipelli, said: “It is the best time in history to be a vegan looking for love!”

Felipelli believes that one of the reasons behind their success is the continued global growth of veganism.

“So many of us want to be with someone who shares the same love for animals, so it’s no surprise we have hit the 500,000 user mark so quickly!”

he adds.

Veggly is set to continue its rapid growth and launched an enhanced 2.0 version with many extra features to make the matchmaking process even more effective and fun.

Veggly, a global dating app designed for vegans and vegetarians; Image: Veggly

The new version will offer users a cleaner and smoother experience with fresh visuals while maintaining the familiar style of the app.

The new range of improvements is based on user feedback from around the world and includes new customisation settings to enhance further the app's ability to find the best match.

They also re-launched a new series of blog posts sharing heart-warming success stories of couples who met on the app.

One of the stories is about a Brazilian couple who welcomed their first baby thanks to the match made on the platform.

Thanks to their active volunteer base, the app has been made available in Spanish, German, Portuguese, French, Italian, Danish and Polish, with many more languages on the way.

At present, this is the only vegan and vegetarian dating app available on mainstream digital stores.

Headline image: Photo by Ba Tik from Pexels

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December 2021

Early-stage startups in Berlin can apply for business award

Business Spirit News reporting — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 11:11:00 +0000

Early-stage startups in Berlin can apply for business award

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The Berlin Newcomer Startup Award is open for business ideas that are not yet on the market.

The Berlin Newcomer Startup Award 2021, managed by Singa Business Lab, is looking for newcomers with great business ideas who are not yet on the market.

Early-stage businesses that are on the verge of turning their concept into reality, but who may still be lacking capital, contacts or advice can apply for the award to receive support and get recognised.

With digital event formats ranging from Q&A sessions and networking events to the pitches at the award show, organisers want to enable more people to get involved.

The winner of the award can access up to 10.000€ seed capital, and additional coaching budgets, while the amount of seed capital in total is 27.500€ to be split between finalists.

Besides finalist projects get to enjoy more visibility and opportunities for networking and co-creation sessions.

Applications can be submitted online by the end of 2nd November.

Eligibility criteria to apply for the Berlin Newcomer Startup Award:

Live in Berlin, Germany.
Moved to Germany within the last 8 years, i.e. in 2013 or later.
The applicant has the nationality of one of the countries from the DAC List of ODA Recipients.
Aged over 18 years.

The six finalists preselected by the jury will be presented on the award's website for 2 weeks where public can vote on their favorite project.

Winner of the public voting will we rewarded with an extra prize of 5.000€ and 2.500€ additional budget for coaching and consulting.

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