By Dipo Olowookere
Startups providing solutions to key sustainability challenges in the world could get business funding of up to $100,000 if they submit entries for the 2022 100+ Accelerator Program put together by AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer and parent company of International Breweries Plc.
The initiative is a collaborative effort with The Coca-Cola Company, Colgate-Palmolive Company and Unilever. Together, the four corporate partners have been overhauling supply chains and scaling innovative solutions that create a better, more sustainable world and a new way of doing business.
A statement issued on Monday disclosed that interested companies have till April 30, 2022, to submit their applications and they must provide ways to capture atmospheric CO2, industrialise photosynthesis to expand food supply, transform waste into reusable packaging, treat soil and air pollution, generate renewable energy from organic waste, among others.
The 100+ Accelerator was founded in 2018 by AB InBev to engage and assist startups by providing solutions to key sustainability challenges for large global corporate partners.
It delivers six months of remote programming and training to accelerate the collaboration and growth of cohort companies in addition to a pilot or alliance with partner companies and a grant given for the execution of the project.
One of the beneficiaries of the scheme, Nuha Siddiqui, who is the CEO of Erthos, stated that, “The 100+ Accelerator played a transformational role in our technology validation and business trajectory.
“By unlocking an opportunity to pilot our solution with a company like AB InBev, we were able to build a more compatible and sustainable solution to existing value chains.
“Our plant-powered alternatives to plastics will be launching for the first time with AB InBev and have since sparked additional interest from more than 50 other CPGs, brands and manufacturers globally. Thanks to the 100+ Accelerator, we are now one step closer to making all single-use plastics plant-powered for our planet.”
Speaking on the benefits of the program to entrepreneurs, the Legal and Cooperate Affairs Director of International Breweries Plc, Ms Temitope Oguntokun, said, “Sustainability focused start-ups are very crucial if we must attain the target of a cleaner and safer world.
“International Breweries Plc on its part has gained international recognition for its role in making the world a better place by setting high standards when it comes to achieving the sustainability development goals.”
On her part, the entrepreneurship lead Europe, AB InBev, Ms Anna Voronkova, stated that, “Since its inception, the 100+ Accelerator has driven projects globally across a diverse range of sustainability challenges from water sanitation to reducing microplastics.”
