June 2, 2023
by Three startups who participated in Joule, Eni School of Entrepreneurship and BeEntrepreneurs APS Seeds for Sustainable Energy 2023 competition won grant prizes of 10,000 euros each.
Seeds for Sustainable Energy 2023, a program promoted by BeEntrepreneurs APS and Joule, Eni School of Entrepreneurship – scouted and trained 10 of the best Startups in East-Africa with a focus on sustainable and innovative agriculture solutions.
The competition is a new initiative dedicated
to the agribusiness innovation in Kenya promoted by BeEntrepreneurs APS and Joule, Eni School of Entrepreneurship with the support of Embassy of Italy in Nairobi and E4 Impact
The winners of Seeds for Sustainable Energy 2023 were:
- FarmerLifeLine Technologies
- FarmIT
- Koch Food Waste Management Champions
At the beginning of 2023 Joule, Eni School of Entrepreneurship and BeEntrepreneurs APS launched a joint initiative dedicated to the agricultural innovation ecosystem in Kenya with the goal of selecting the best startup founders, innovators, makers and young talents who intend to develop products or services with high potential impact for local agribusinesses.
During the week-long bootcamp that happened in Nairobi from May 2nd to 5th, the 10 Startups worked with Eni’s and BeEntrepreneurs’ teams and their network of local first-class trainers, innovators and investors who offered a next-level accelerator and mentorship program built through actionable best practices, inspiring talks and memorable group activities, for once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The ultimate mission of the program is to support the growth of sustainable new businesses, by forming a new generation of entrepreneurs, through the development of core skills and the use of specific startup acceleration tools and to build cooperative relationships with local stakeholders for a win-win business approach.
The program included design thinking sessions to help the startups fine-tune their mission and goals, assess the ecosystem needs and future scenarios, map relevant local and global stakeholders for their business. Moreover, throughout the week the startups worked on how to make their pitch presentation more effective with the help of innovation professionals, agribusiness subject matter experts and other entrepreneurs. The bootcamp culminated on May 5th with a pitching session in front of a jury of relevant investors, Italian and Kenyan institutions representatives and successful startup founders as well as other innovation ecosystem partners. The top 3 startups walked away with a grant prize of 10,000 euros in services each.
The 10 selected startups were:
Koch Food Waste Management Champions collects waste and processes it into different products, including compost / fertilizer, briquettes and oil;
- FamerLifeLine Technologies: startup that keep the crops healthy detecting crop pests and diseases before time;
- Cellubioclag Distilors produces bioethanol fuel from some wild non-food tree plant feedstock (‘Cebioxa’ Cellulosic Bioethanol fuel);
- DroneCrops Ventures assists farmers in mapping and spraying using drones. DCV crop insights guide the farmers to identify underperforming areas such as those with irrigation issues, nutrient deficiencies, or infestation by pests and diseases;
- Farm IT is an AgriTech startup that provides farmers with digital services to improve their livelihoods with three farmer digital services: 1. Crop Mapping mobile technology, 2. Mkulima Plus, and 3. M-tractor;
- Shamba Pride: CRM, extension, BNPL and market linkage commerce platform which not only solves supply chain bottlenecks but also modernizes these merchants and their customers operations creating a local farming community of improved choice, variety, better prices and transparency;
- Agrotech Plus: modular, solar-powered walk-in cold rooms that provides 24/7 off-grid storage and preservation for fresh fruits and vegetables. They are installed in markets and farms within the reach of farmers and retailers;
- Soil Doctors: manufacture Carbon-sink planters, a low-cost, biodegradable product in which trees can grow autonomously without irrigation. The carbon-sink planters are produced by blending rock minerals including olivine with solid waste which is first modified into biochar through pyrolysis;
- Global Agricultural Solution: supply innovative agrimachinery, do biogas installations and biodigester septic tank installations and offer online biogas courses and learning resources. It’s a revolutionary digital platform where farmers can easily learn and access agrimachinery;
- Marula Proteen: the startup transforms Africa’s waste into sustainable feed & fertilizer.
