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13 new environmental and social projects in Palestine starting the incubation phase

This important milestone of the Switchers Support Programme, implemented by SCP/RAC and its local partner the Birzeit University, will support the selected entrepreneurs to develop their green businesses.

Published on Friday 08 April 2022· START-UPS AND ENTREPRENEURS

The incubation phase is starting in Palestine for 13 projects selected by the jury on the occasion of a pitching event that was held on 12 and 14 of March in the Birzeit University premises in Ramallah.

During this pitching event, the green entrepreneurs of the pre-selected 48 best business ideas presented the Green Business Models that they had been developing over the previous months, within the framework of the Switchers Support Programme and in accordance with the unique methodology established by the Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP/RAC).

The jury consisted in members of the SwitchMed local partner in Palestine, namely the Birzeit University, SCP/RAC, SwitchMed focal points from the Ministries of Economy and Environment as well as senior experts on green business development. They jointly assessed the proposals of the candidates with different criteria such as the feasibility of the project, its environmental and social impacts, economic profit and novelty and selected 13 projects out of these 48 to access the incubation phase. Two additional green businesses will also be selected from the trainings that are currently taking place in Gaza, bringing the total number of incubated projects to 15.

The 15 entrepreneurs (9 of them being women) behind these projects, will be supported to create their green businesses through an 8-month incubation including personal mentoring and tailored external technical assistance. Their mentors are mainly from the Business Support Organizations (BSOs) that are part of the Switchers Support National Partnership of Palestine: the Birzeit University, the An-Najah University of Nablus, the Palestinian Technical University Khadoury of Tulkarem, Palestinian Agriculture Relief Committee (PARC), Palestinian Agreeincubator, IDEAS Center of Jeneen, and the Palestinian Polytechnic University of Hebron.

The expected results of the incubation process are:
– 15 Green Business Plans developed using the online platform TheSwitchers.org;
– At least 15 entrepreneurs manage to register their company, develop a product and monitor their progresses.

Once their incubation is finalized, the green entrepreneurs will be invited to participate at the National Investors Switchers event and pitch their Green Business Plans in front of a Jury, including selected Sustainable Business Investors, in order to reach financial deals and mobilize funds for their green businesses. This event is foreseen for the last quarter of 2022.

Here are the selected 13 projects:

Name of the project Sector Brief description of the business
Blue Stone Sustainable waste management & Resource efficiency Glass recycling for concrete production. The leading company in the production of artificial stone and awareness of the importance of recycling in Palestine. Production of an environmental interior stone from recycling solid waste that does not decompose over time, glass and wood shavings. The stone is used in exterior and interior decorations
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Organic food & agriculture (includes husbandry, fisheries and associated industries) CEA is the efficient growing of crops with positive environmental impact. It consists in indoor vertical farming practice that uses the vertical space, and utilizes supplemental automated LED lighting.
Bio clean Sustainable waste management & Resource efficiency Recycling of potato waste (or any other starch waste) and animal manure in order to produce large amount of ethanol and methanol gases (as a mixture). The project aims to support areas that do not have a specific source of energy to have a constant source for cooking, heating and lighting. The project also aims to use the waste remained in a bio-reactor after energy production as bio-fertilizer which is high-quality and stable organic matter that anchors soil and provide a very good source of microelements that plants may need. The result is a porous product with water retention capacity, odourless and with low humidity: no problem with plagues.
Sunpaint Sustainable waste management & Resource efficiency Recycling stone waste, sand and silt that are harmful to the environment and manufacturing high-quality, moisture-insulating, quick-drying paint, unaffected by weather factors, safe and harmless to humans, easy to clean, soft in texture and sticky, easy to spread on the surface, coherent. It does not crumble, protects the walls from cracking and prevents moisture and mold, it is formed in different, attractive and shiny colors, and competitive price. On the other hand, water is obtained from filtering the waste by placing it in a safe well and reselling it to the owners of stone saws to be reused to cool the stone cutting again.
Hakoura Zuwwadeh Hekaye farm Organic food & agriculture (includes husbandry, fisheries and associated industries) An organic farm specialized in growing pineapples, hanging strawberries, and fish farming, and a popular restaurant serving farm products using Palestinian folklore.
Raising sheep and producing milk and compost Organic food & agriculture (includes husbandry, fisheries and associated industries) Environmental sheep farm, producing ecological cheese and dairy in addition to compost. Free from preservatives, flavor and texture enhancers and environmentally friendly storage.
RabbitsFarm Organic food & agriculture (includes husbandry, fisheries and associated industries) Rabbit farming producing organic meat suitable for target consumers suffering heart diseases, diabetes, high cholesterol. The farm uses recycling practices and manual labor.
e-waste Sustainable electrical and electronic equipment It is a pioneering commercial environmental service project based on ridding the environment of electronic waste that is harmful to humans and reusing it as spare parts in the maintenance of various different electronic devices, especially laptops, and cellular devices. It also aims to create a mobile application and a website to communicate with customers in order to meet their needs in the maintenance of electronic devices and the purchase of electronic waste from them. In addition, the project aims at placing special containers in different governorates in order to collect various electronic waste in cooperation with the municipalities.
Bike Tours Sustainable tourism Bike Tours for eco-tourism and cycling academy.
An environmentally conscious and responsible project, aware of the importance of sport on mental and physical health through the culture of cycling.
The project aims to build an academy that provides educational and recreational programs for children, young men and women, spreading awareness and environmental and social responsibility through cycling as a clean sport that enables them to explore open spaces in Palestine with their wheels freely and use them as a healthy and beautiful outlet to break the political, social and economic pressures experienced by children, young women and youth in the Palestinian context.
Planting Cactus and Aloe Vera Sustainable waste management & Resource efficiency Cultivation of the medicinal aloe vera plant with therapeutic and cosmetic properties.
The project will increase sustainable use of natural resources by using empty land in organic farming using rain water instead of water irrigation systems.
Smart Waste Basket Sustainable waste management & Resource efficiency This project aims to compress the food waste in kitchens and other liquid content waste in order to dispose waste squeezer before transferring it to land fill as well as to achieve the minimum weight and size of transferred waste.
حِرَف Heraf Sustainable waste management & Resource efficiency Converting plastic bottles into 3D printer plastic.
Palestinian Eeco water Sustainable waste management & Resource efficiency Production of Charcoal Filter for industrial enterprises.

The 15 entrepreneurs (9 of them being women) behind these projects, will be supported to create their green businesses through an 8-month incubation including personal mentoring and tailored external technical assistance.

Two additional green businesses will also be selected from the trainings that are currently taking place in Gaza.

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