Youth Sustainable Impact Southeast Asia (YSI SEA) and the Temasek Foundation hosted their “Virtual Demo Day 2020” on Thursday. A total of 23 entrepreneurs from 13 startups joined the event, according to a statement.
The startups are coming from Singapore and nearby countries and present sustainable solutions for the circular economy, food and agriculture, and energy problems. Among the solutions are solar energy lamps made from recycled plastic bottles, resource and energy-efficient “precision farming” in vertical rows, and plastic waste used as eco-building materials.
“Young impact entrepreneurs need a springboard to jump-start their journey,” said YSI SEA co-founder Irsyad Ramthan.
These are the startups who have undergone the five months virtual incubation program:
- Archi – Converting biomaterial from coffee ground waste and other agricultural waste to consumer products such as cups and mugs.
- Bali Recycle Up – Recycling floral waste into organic incense.
- The Bamboo Company – Aiming to put bamboo in all parts of one’s life, from houses to products, from food to furniture.
- Cinemawithoutwall – Creating interactive visual data storytelling for better and faster decision-making, through a multimedia crowdsourcing hub.
- Circular Blueprint – Up-cycling plastic wastes into eco-building materials to make housing more affordable, safer and better.
- Datanam – Enabling precision vertical farming that is optimized with data.
- Frescue – Connecting excess food supply with the unmet food demands by redistributing edible but unconsumed food to people and organisations.
- Hidragro – Providing hydroponic and aquaponic solutions along with training and education to farmers to provide healthier, tech-driven ways of growing and consuming food produce.
- Leaf.ly – Using Artificial Intelligence to reduce farm expenses by shortening the waiting time and optimising fertiliser input.
- Light of Hope – Providing clean, renewable energy by incorporating circular economy principles of recycling plastic bottles and using ‘Internet of Things’ for smart monitoring of energy consumption.
- Phytopia – Horizontally integrating the supply chain that connects farmers with agritech and students with affordable and healthier food in the form of a salad bowl.
- Rectyic – Converting plastic waste into functional lifestyle items.
- Solytair – Providing renewable energy powered outdoor cooling systems that help cities and businesses improve the health and well-being of the public on a large scale.
Selected startups are receiving mentorship and business coaching, as well as direct pitching to the VC firm Reapra with a potential USD 100,000 in funding.
