Twenty-seven startups join the Circular Economy incubator

Last year, 26 Swiss startups graduated from the first Circular Economy Incubator (CE Incubator) program. This year, a new cohort comprising 27 early-stage startups will join the 2020 program at the Impact Hubs of their respective city – in Bern, Geneva, Lausanne or Zürich. During the next three months, the teams will benefit from one-to-one coaching, workshops, networking sessions, co-working at the Impact Hubs, and access to the Swiss circular startup ecosystem and an expert pool.

The selected projects are:

Bern

• ECCO.ECO – online marketplace for upcycled products.

• Help'n'Trade - digital platform facilitating the exchange of goods and services locally

• Neustark – turns CO2 into minerals

• co-kitchen – vegan gastronomy services

• ResiLi AG – aims to bring a new standard of resources in the food industry

• TEIL.Style – a rental shop for everyday clothes ECCO.ECO

• CINE.EQUIPMENT – a marketplace where filmmakers and film production companies can rent and hire film equipment.

Zurich

• Oïoïoï – rental service for high-quality organic baby clothing

• iCEEP – a digital market place that stimulates and rewards societal circular behaviour.

• r-5 Fashion circle – a one-stop platform that unites fashion lovers & local businesses into a CE.

• TicInsect – focuses on the bioconversion of food waste into sustainable proteins for animal feed.

• Lyfa – online store and delivery service for plastic free groceries.

• EDAPRO – offers effective and natural plant fortifiers with the help of indigenous microorganisms.

• Exnaton – Sharing economy to the Energy sector.       

• Loopi – Strollers as a service.

Lausanne

• CEM – a “Circular Economy Modular” material that will replace concrete

• Do You Speak Lingerie - a stylish and sustainable lingerie brand

• Hopvrac.ch – democratize bulk commissions: online ordering; choice of timing; withdrawal!

• Low Impact Food – Food production “waste” valorisation bioconversion using edible insect and production of local and sustainable source of protein.

• LesCouchesRebelles – Supply, delivery and cleaning of cloth diapers

• WePot – an ecological and ancestral irrigation system. It saves up to 70% of water and makes plants autonomous.

Geneva

• ID Watch - Swiss-made watches tailored to your identity sourced from the circular economy.

• Funghi Framers - Sustainable oyster mushroom cultivation using recycled coffee waste from local Geneva businesses to reduce environmental impact.

• RemotelyGreen – makes remote connection greener, quicker, cheaper and more inclusive

• Treasures of nature - Creating and selling organic, vegan, Swiss-made, cruelty-free and zero-waste cosmetics

• Whering - an app enabling women to see, use and style their existing wardrobe

• Swishy - online marketplace connecting offers with wishes in the local community.

Focus on early-stage projects
For the second edition, the program will focus on early-stage projects.  Jose Silva, Incubator program lead at Circular Economy Transition, says: “Based on last year’s experiences, this time we focus on enabling startups that are taking their first ‘entrepreneurial steps’ because there is still a need for more bottom-up solutions in order to close the circularity gap. With a validated business model, a strong team, the right contacts, and entrepreneurial skills in their backpack, the CE Incubator startups will be able to thrive and grow their business sustainably after the program.”

(Press release/ran)