A portable battery, homemade broth and cloth nappies: the Brussels Region's sustainable entrepreneurship acceleration program Greenlab.brussels delivered its three new winners on Thursday, under the auspices of the Minister for the Economy and Job Didier Gosuin. We talked about it in #m this Thursday evening.

For the eighth edition of Greenlab, 26 candidate-entrepreneurs were in the running, of which nearly half (48%) were in their thirties and 52% were women. However, only 13 have received support over the past six months. Among these, the jury decided to award the Greenlab 2019 prize to “Standard 18650”, a portable battery prototype giving a second life to used batteries from electric scooters or bicycles. “It is estimated that of the batteries to be recycled, between 20 and 30% of the accumulators are still functional. The objective is to upgrade this remaining charge in a portable battery, capable of recharging a mobile phone or tablet several times” , explain its designers, Timoté Rouffignac and Jonathan Maus, one industrial designer and the other an environmental engineer. The project won the favor of the jury for its circular approach, its development potential and its innovation. The two entrepreneurs win, among other things, three months' rent in the regional start-up incubator Greenbizz and one year of tailor-made support to develop their business as well as possible.

A partner of Greenlab.brussels for eight years, the Triodos bank has chosen to reward “My broth”, which aims to promote the benefits of artisanal broth. For its preparation, “We collect unsold local vegetables and carcasses of meat from short circuits” , comments Antoinette Godin, for whom the art of eating well is “a family affair”. Initially, the young woman and her partner Mariannick Bossut hope to develop their activity for businesses and the catering industry. They win a check for 2,500 euros.

Finally, the public has largely acclaimed the start-up project “Solange” which offers parents washable nappies for hire and cleaned by professionals. “In five years, we have laid the foundations of the circular economy in Brussels and developed an ecosystem that promotes its development. We are witnessing the birth of a new economy, which is still a niche market, but we are seeing an explosion of projects that is continuing,” underlined Minister Didier Gosuin. "I hope that the next government will seize the tools that have been put in place because there is real room for growth," he concluded.

Of the hundreds of candidate-entrepreneurs supported by Greenlab since 2012, one out of two projects would give rise to a business. Among the success stories, we can cite in particular Tale Me, Simone a Soif!, Skyfarms, Wonderloop and Boentje Café, which are now firmly rooted in the economic fabric of Brussels. Greenlab will launch its next call for applications on October 1st.

Belgium – Photo: BX1

Source: BX1 article : Greenlab.brussels helps sustainable businesses get started