AFD joins MoHUA-Villgro in Swacchata Startup Challenge
France and India are committed to working together on tackling plastic pollution and waste management, French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain said, announcing a new support for Indian startups.
He underlined the commitment to Indian startups as AgenceFrancaise de Developpement (AFD) joined the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) at the conclusion of Swachhata Startup Challenge on 20 Sept 2022.
Villgro, on a mission is to make innovative, impactful businesses succeed in Health, Agribusiness, and Climate Action in India, was the implementation partner for the Startup Conclave.
AFD, which has been working in India since 2008, and MoHUA are providing Rs.25 lakhs funding for each of the 10 startups winner of the Challenge. They will also be provided personalized professional and capacity-building support for a year.
Further, eligible startups will also receive Rs.50 lakhs in follow-on investment from Villgro, which has supported 340 social enterprises and provided over Rs.4.28 billion in investments since its founding in 2001.
“The Challenge is a concrete step in this direction, and we are proud of the overwhelming response it has received,” said the French envoy.
“I warmly congratulate the 10 winners whose innovative solutions will bring about socially impactful transformation to India’s waste management ecosystem.”
The Swachhata Startup Challenge seeks to create a conducive environment and nurture impactful startups creating solutions at the nexus of social innovation and technology. Furthermore, it provides financial, capacity building and GTM support to the startups to reinforce India’s waste management ecosystem and catalyze digital transformation.
The Top 10 winners are:
Genrobotics which develops robotic scavengers engineered to clean manholes and sewers, thereby eliminating manual scavenging.
The Kabadiwala which enables users to sell and schedule free pickup of over 40 different categories of recyclable wastes.
Bintix Waste Research which tracks collection, weighing, sorting and recycling of dry waste coming from each household.
Recycler India-Saltech which transforms single-use plastics, construction and industrial waste into high-performance composite building materials.
JalSevak which recycles wastewater from bathrooms, sinks, cloth-washing and dishwashing for flushing toilets and urinals.
GreenJams which produces carbon-negative building materials out of crop residues and industrial by-products to replace conventional bricks.
Mudita and Radhesh which transforms chicken waste into handloom cloth that is further turned into clothes and accessories by tribal women and local village artisans.
Green Delight Innovation which produces India’s first FDA-approved sanitary pads that are organic, plastic-free and biodegradable.
KNP Arises which offers a platform for hotels, restaurants and other food businesses to dispose of used cooking oil in a traceable and effective manner.
Cherries which produces a portable, multi-functional Sanitation Service Equipment for pumping high-density fecal and sanitary sludge from leach-pits, septic tanks and manholes.
AFD Group is a public financial institution that funds, supports and accelerates transitions towards a more just and sustainable world. As a French overseas aid platform for sustainable development and investment, it has created shared solutions for the people.
AFD is working on over 4,000 projects in 115 countries where it strives to promote health, education and gender equality, and to protect common resources with a focus on peace, biodiversity and a stable climate. fiinews.com
