● Al-Mashat: The ClimaTechRun competition contributed to enhancing efforts to exchange knowledge and experiences and introduce international companies to expansion opportunities in Egypt and the Middle East region.
● 3 startups won 1st place in the 2nd edition of the competition in the field of drinking water, energy and agricultural supply chains.
During COP28, the Ministry of International Cooperation organized a high-level event in the Egyptian pavilion at the conference, to announce the results of the 2nd edition of the international climate technology competition ClimaTechRun2023, which targets emerging companies in the field of climate action. That was in the presence of Alessandro Fracassetti, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mirna Arif, General Manager of Microsoft Egypt, and many representatives of startups, international institutions and entrepreneurs who participated in the 1st edition of the ClimaTechRun2022 competition. The 2nd edition of the competition was organized in partnership with the Ministries of Communications and Information Technology, and the Environment, along with development partners; UNDP, USAID, Microsoft, World Bank Group (WBG), and Korea Green Growth Fund.
In her speech, the Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat confirmed that the 1st and 2nd editions of the international ClimaTechRun competition demonstrated the enormous potential of emerging companies and their ability to confront climate change through innovative solutions and modern technologies, which supports the ability of different countries to achieve their climate ambition, explaining that climate change is one of the main challenges facing the planet
Al-Mashat explained that the competition contributed to enhancing efforts to exchange knowledge, experiences and ideas. It also contributed to introducing participating international companies to expansion opportunities in Egypt and the Middle East and North Africa region, to contribute through their solutions to confronting renewable energy challenges and improving the efficiency of food and agricultural systems. and water management.
Al-Mashat added that the 2nd edition of the competition builds on the efforts achieved during the year 2022 coinciding with Egypt’s presidency of COP27, where 422 startup companies from 66 countries participated in the 1st edition, most of whom were in the early stages of growth at a rate of 82%, and based on Intense competition in the competition, only 3.5% of them were able to reach the final stages. Therefore, this year, the focus was on that category that was not fortunate enough to reach the final stages of the competition in the first 1st and 405 startup companies were invited, and the entries came from 44 countries.
During the event, 3 startup companies were announced as winners, in 1st place being the Tunisian Kimolos Company, which created a home device that produces drinking water by extracting it directly from the air using solar energy. The company obtained a certificate of suitability for the water produced from the device according to European Union specifications. The company also operates the device and distributes it to remote workplaces that are not connected to drinking water networks.
In 2nd place came PowerStove from Nigeria, which is a leading company working to provide an innovative solution to the energy problem in developing societies, by designing, producing and developing an environmentally friendly stove that works effectively and relies on modern technology. The company also works on producing biofuel pellets, at low cost to meet the energy needs of developing countries.
3rd came the Egyptian company Fresh Source. The company aims to take advantage of technology and digital platforms to provide an effective and innovative way for consumers to access high-quality products directly from producers, to become a platform for the agricultural supply chain in the Middle East and North Africa region, by changing the way of obtaining fresh goods, transport and sale, and the creation of more sustainable fresh food systems based on data and technology to improve the quality of production and consumption.
The international ClimaTech Run competition is an example of constructive partnerships between the government, development partners, the private sector and major technology companies, in order to open the horizons of climate action for emerging companies. It also comes in response to the global call for the need to address climate change and innovate sustainable solutions aimed at preserving the environment and giving priority to environmentally friendly technologies and climate emergency technology companies, that support solutions for adaptation and mitigation of the repercussions of climate change.