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Rabat – ClimateLaunchpad Morocco, the world’s largest competition for green energy and climate focused startups, revealed its national finalists for Morocco on Saturday.
After thirteen pitches, the competition’s judges revealed the three finalists: Biockaging, GreenHim, and From Sand to Green. The three projects will represent Morocco in the regional finals, taking place in Egypt on September 21-22.
Following regional finals, the Global Grand Finals will take place in Amsterdam on November 3. The winner of the competition will take home a 10,000 euro cash prize, with the runner-ups gaining 5,000 euros, and the third place team taking 2,500 euros.
“We are very satisfied with the quality of the youth, as well as the quality of the startups in the competition,” Ahmed Larouz, National Lead of ClimateLaunchpad Morocco, told Morocco World News.
“We are also trying to develop this ecosystem in Morocco, especially clean tech startups that are developing enormously in Africa,” he added.
African participants were the biggest portion of participants in the competition this year, which Larouz says should give enterprising youth confidence that green energy powered startups are the future.
He added that the event will strengthen economic ties between Morocco and the Netherlands, whose embassy helped organize the event in Morocco and participated with its own booths to offer opportunities for the participants.
“Our priority sectors are water, energy and agriculture,” Economic Advisor at the Dutch Embassy in Morocco Adil Raitab told Morocco World News. “We invite Dutch companies to come to exhibit their products and their solutions, when they have an added value on the economy and the environment.”
Raitab added that the embassy can give startups the logistical support they need, help them find connections with Dutch companies, and regularly organize seminars and other networking events.
In addition to usual innovations in green energy, some of the startups who participated in the Morocco event showed off creative ways of making consumer products more eco-friendly.
The Enactus EMI team showed off their “Nuwood” project, a natural wood substitute made from walnut shells collected across Morocco, which can be used in furniture and other consumer products. The project also seeks to give opportunities to disadvantaged women who work in cooperatives to make the wood.
Biockaging, one of the finalists who will be competing in Egypt’s regional finals, focuses on finding alternative packaging and shipping methods that do not rely on plastic as much.
Co-founded by the European Union, Climate Launchpad seeks to address climate change through entrepreneurship. In addition to cash prizes, the initiative offers coaching and logistical support for startups.
