Aafrin Kidwai WasteAid, a UK-based international NGO, has announced two winners of its Zero Waste Cities Challenge in Guwahati. Local entrepreneurs from Shree Guru Plastic and Inside Out each won €10,000 and six months of business mentoring to transform their ideas a reality.
Inside Out has found a way to make paper out of the weed, reducing the need for wood pulp, which is resource-intensive. Shree Guru Plastic is focused on increasing the recycling capacity of its facility by using better technology for low value and contaminated plastics which are left out of the recycling chain. Through the funding, Shree Guru Plastic will provide new job opportunities for 22 women in the informal waste sector.
At the moment, only a fraction of waste generated in Guwahati is recycled while the remaining waste ends up at landfill or littered in the environment.
About the Zero Waste Cities Challenge
Between April and July, WasteAid’s Zero Waste Cities Challenge received 100 entries from across the world. From there, 12 entrepreneurs were selected as part of a shortlist for Guwahati and enrolled in a free eight-week business mentoring programme with Massive Earth Foundation. During this process, the entrepreneurs refined their business ideas, developed a more robust business plan and polished their pitching skills.
Five finalists were then selected to compete in the grande finale held on 20 October, pitching their business innovations in front of a judging panel of industry experts: Sanjib Bezbaroa, EVP of Corporate EHS and Sustainability, ITC Ltd; Swati Singh Sambyal, Waste Management Specialist, UN-Habitat and Gautam Mehra, Deputy Team Leader, GIZ.
The global challenge is part of WasteAid’s Circular Economy Network, funded by Huhtamaki, which is running events across three cities: Guwahati in India, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and Johannesburg in South Africa.
The two winning entrepreneurs will now begin to implement their proposed innovations, supported by a further six months of business mentoring. The ultimate goal is to showcase impact in waste reduction and resource efficiency in Guwahati by April 2022.
Disclaimer: This article is taken from a press release issued by WasteAid.
