Circular Design Challenge
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ARTICLES (321)
Commercial Director and co-founder of Digitanimal by SensoWave
An industrial engineer by training, Rubén Blanco Carrera comes from a family of ranchers in Cabañas, 18 km from Ávila, Spain. Currently he is Commercial Director and co-founder of IoT startup SensoWave, as well as its brand Digitanimal, aimed at remote farming. The business idea of Digitanimal partly came about because of Blanco’s personal experience with his own livestock. Using IoT remote tracking, detecting heat and parturition through the use of sensors , which are analyzed to reflect the behavior of the cattle and notify alert ranchers to the anomalies detected, he was able to save a mother and calf from a difficult delivery. In another incident, the technology helped alert him to the attack of wolves. Blanco holds both a first degree and a master's degree from Madrid's Alfonso X El Sabio University, the former in Technical Engineering in Industrial and Product Design and the latter in Industrial Engineering and Industrial Electronics. He then worked as an industrial engineer at both private company Retailgas and at Alfa Imaging, the startup co-founded by Carlos Callejero, with whom Blanco later co-founded SensoWave.
An industrial engineer by training, Rubén Blanco Carrera comes from a family of ranchers in Cabañas, 18 km from Ávila, Spain. Currently he is Commercial Director and co-founder of IoT startup SensoWave, as well as its brand Digitanimal, aimed at remote farming. The business idea of Digitanimal partly came about because of Blanco’s personal experience with his own livestock. Using IoT remote tracking, detecting heat and parturition through the use of sensors , which are analyzed to reflect the behavior of the cattle and notify alert ranchers to the anomalies detected, he was able to save a mother and calf from a difficult delivery. In another incident, the technology helped alert him to the attack of wolves. Blanco holds both a first degree and a master's degree from Madrid's Alfonso X El Sabio University, the former in Technical Engineering in Industrial and Product Design and the latter in Industrial Engineering and Industrial Electronics. He then worked as an industrial engineer at both private company Retailgas and at Alfa Imaging, the startup co-founded by Carlos Callejero, with whom Blanco later co-founded SensoWave.
CTO and co-founder of Aimentia
Eric Mourin is the Barcelona-based CTO and co-founder of Aimentia, which runs the first AI-powered virtual clinic for mental health patients. He met his fellow co-founder Edgar Jorba, who is now CEO of Aimentia, at the Open University of Catalonia. The company was established while both co-founders were still students.Mourin is a computer engineer by training. Prior to setting up Aimentia, he worked as a software engineer. He also spent close to two years working on a World Heath Organization (WHO) project involving the design and implementation of an IT system for the monitoring and control of neglected tropical diseases. This IT system equipped affected countries to make data-based decisions to reduce incidence of such endemic diseases, while allowing the WHO to efficiently monitor progress.Mourin holds a master’s in computer and information systems security from the Open University of Catalonia as well as a bachelor’s in computer engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.
Eric Mourin is the Barcelona-based CTO and co-founder of Aimentia, which runs the first AI-powered virtual clinic for mental health patients. He met his fellow co-founder Edgar Jorba, who is now CEO of Aimentia, at the Open University of Catalonia. The company was established while both co-founders were still students.Mourin is a computer engineer by training. Prior to setting up Aimentia, he worked as a software engineer. He also spent close to two years working on a World Heath Organization (WHO) project involving the design and implementation of an IT system for the monitoring and control of neglected tropical diseases. This IT system equipped affected countries to make data-based decisions to reduce incidence of such endemic diseases, while allowing the WHO to efficiently monitor progress.Mourin holds a master’s in computer and information systems security from the Open University of Catalonia as well as a bachelor’s in computer engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.
Prizewinning pvDesign software automates solar plant design and its lifetime costs, reducing engineers’ time from weeks to minutes. More than 8,000 projects created worldwide and +2,000GW simulated.
Prizewinning pvDesign software automates solar plant design and its lifetime costs, reducing engineers’ time from weeks to minutes. More than 8,000 projects created worldwide and +2,000GW simulated.
Modulous’s automated generative design technology and ready kit of parts pioneers the rapid scaling of affordable, locally built housing projects to meet sustainability goals.
Modulous’s automated generative design technology and ready kit of parts pioneers the rapid scaling of affordable, locally built housing projects to meet sustainability goals.
R&D and business lead and co-founder of Graviky Labs
Anirudh Sharma is one of three co-founders of Graviky Labs, which makes ink out of carbon that is captured from pollution and purified using proprietary technology. This concept was born from Sharma’s experiments making ink from candle soot while doing his master’s at MIT Materials Lab. He currently leads R&D and business at the firm. Sharma’s interests include augmented reality, wearable computing and environmental projects. Over the years, he has developed and patented various technology products with social and environmental impact. He was formerly CTO and co-founder of India’s first wearable technology company, Ducere Technologies, which was later sold. This company makes Lechal, the world’s first smart haptic device for shoes, initially designed by Sharma as a navigation aid for the visually impaired. Sharma also previously worked for Imagin Group at Hewlett Packard Labs, on a multimodal speech and touch-based computer-aided design interface for large displays.Sharma holds a master's from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-led the activities of MIT Media Lab India from 2013–2015. He is a TED and TEDx speaker and has been included in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for Asia, MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35, and Foreign Policy magazine’s 100 Global Thinkers of 2016.
Anirudh Sharma is one of three co-founders of Graviky Labs, which makes ink out of carbon that is captured from pollution and purified using proprietary technology. This concept was born from Sharma’s experiments making ink from candle soot while doing his master’s at MIT Materials Lab. He currently leads R&D and business at the firm. Sharma’s interests include augmented reality, wearable computing and environmental projects. Over the years, he has developed and patented various technology products with social and environmental impact. He was formerly CTO and co-founder of India’s first wearable technology company, Ducere Technologies, which was later sold. This company makes Lechal, the world’s first smart haptic device for shoes, initially designed by Sharma as a navigation aid for the visually impaired. Sharma also previously worked for Imagin Group at Hewlett Packard Labs, on a multimodal speech and touch-based computer-aided design interface for large displays.Sharma holds a master's from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-led the activities of MIT Media Lab India from 2013–2015. He is a TED and TEDx speaker and has been included in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for Asia, MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35, and Foreign Policy magazine’s 100 Global Thinkers of 2016.
Co-CEO, co-founder of Psquared
Argentinian native Nicolas Araujo Müller is co-CEO and co-founder at Psquared, Spain’s first flexible workplace management and design company for hybrid workspaces. He has worked there since its foundation in April 2018, originally as part of startup hub CoBuilder, and is now its CFO. He is also a part-time advisor and investor at startup development agency We Are Grit, since its launch in 2020.Earlier, Araujo was CFO and co-founder at digital talent agency Bandit, for two years, until 2017. Before that, he held the same roles at his previous Barcelona-based startup, Nubelo, another tech recruitment agency for freelancers, between 2012 and 2016, when it was acquired by Freelancer.com. In 2016, Araujo was a visiting professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona on digital economy.His first startup was Work At Home in Argentina, where he was a co-founder for two years from 2011–13, for which he won local innovation prizes. Prior to this, Araujo held various management consultancy roles, working in business analysis and research at Ernst & Young, Standard & Poor’s and Accenture, from 2008–2012, and completed a stint at the US embassy in Buenos Aires. He is also a founding member of Argentina’s entrepreneur organization, ASEA, established in 2013. Araujo holds a degree in economics from CEMA University, Buenos Aires and a qualification from Harvard University in negotiation. In 2017 and 2013, Araujo was named in Forbes Argentina’s 30 Promesas list of young entrepreneurs.
Argentinian native Nicolas Araujo Müller is co-CEO and co-founder at Psquared, Spain’s first flexible workplace management and design company for hybrid workspaces. He has worked there since its foundation in April 2018, originally as part of startup hub CoBuilder, and is now its CFO. He is also a part-time advisor and investor at startup development agency We Are Grit, since its launch in 2020.Earlier, Araujo was CFO and co-founder at digital talent agency Bandit, for two years, until 2017. Before that, he held the same roles at his previous Barcelona-based startup, Nubelo, another tech recruitment agency for freelancers, between 2012 and 2016, when it was acquired by Freelancer.com. In 2016, Araujo was a visiting professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona on digital economy.His first startup was Work At Home in Argentina, where he was a co-founder for two years from 2011–13, for which he won local innovation prizes. Prior to this, Araujo held various management consultancy roles, working in business analysis and research at Ernst & Young, Standard & Poor’s and Accenture, from 2008–2012, and completed a stint at the US embassy in Buenos Aires. He is also a founding member of Argentina’s entrepreneur organization, ASEA, established in 2013. Araujo holds a degree in economics from CEMA University, Buenos Aires and a qualification from Harvard University in negotiation. In 2017 and 2013, Araujo was named in Forbes Argentina’s 30 Promesas list of young entrepreneurs.
Co-founder of Psquared
Argentinian native Jorge Araujo Müller is co-founder and investor at Psquared, Spain’s first flexible workplace management and design company, Psquared, for hybrid workspaces, where he has worked since its foundation in April 2019. Psquared is a spin-off of startup innovation hub CoBuilder, founded one year earlier and which Araujo co-founded. He has several other roles. Since 2020, he is a co-founder at startup development agency We Are Grit and advisor of a talent agency for Latin Americans in Spain, Base España. He is also an investor and advisor at e-commerce recruitment agency RSV Outsourcing. Araujo also holds part-time educational roles, speaking on innovation at Barcelona’s ESADE institution to MBA students and as a mentor at Mexico’s chapter of the MassChallenge accelerator. Earlier, Araujo worked as a business advisor to the digital agency JustDigital, and was co-founder and sales director at the digital talent agency Bandit, for a year. Before that, from 2012–2016, he was CSO and co-founder of Barcelona-based startup Nubelo – a tech recruitment agency for freelancers – until it was acquired by Freelancer.com. Prior to this, Araujo worked for two years as a business researcher at JP Morgan Chase and for almost two years at West Side Consultants, both in Argentina. Araujo holds a business administration qualification from CEMA University, Buenos Aires.In 2013, Araujo and his brother were named in Forbes Argentina’s 30 Promesas list of young entrepreneurs.
Argentinian native Jorge Araujo Müller is co-founder and investor at Psquared, Spain’s first flexible workplace management and design company, Psquared, for hybrid workspaces, where he has worked since its foundation in April 2019. Psquared is a spin-off of startup innovation hub CoBuilder, founded one year earlier and which Araujo co-founded. He has several other roles. Since 2020, he is a co-founder at startup development agency We Are Grit and advisor of a talent agency for Latin Americans in Spain, Base España. He is also an investor and advisor at e-commerce recruitment agency RSV Outsourcing. Araujo also holds part-time educational roles, speaking on innovation at Barcelona’s ESADE institution to MBA students and as a mentor at Mexico’s chapter of the MassChallenge accelerator. Earlier, Araujo worked as a business advisor to the digital agency JustDigital, and was co-founder and sales director at the digital talent agency Bandit, for a year. Before that, from 2012–2016, he was CSO and co-founder of Barcelona-based startup Nubelo – a tech recruitment agency for freelancers – until it was acquired by Freelancer.com. Prior to this, Araujo worked for two years as a business researcher at JP Morgan Chase and for almost two years at West Side Consultants, both in Argentina. Araujo holds a business administration qualification from CEMA University, Buenos Aires.In 2013, Araujo and his brother were named in Forbes Argentina’s 30 Promesas list of young entrepreneurs.
Challengers Capital was founded in 2014. Its founding partners are angel investors Xie Xianlin and Tang Binsen. It manages three RMB funds with around RMB 2 billion in management.Challengers Capital focuses on areas like consumption upgrade, entertainment, gaming, enterprise services and fintech.
Challengers Capital was founded in 2014. Its founding partners are angel investors Xie Xianlin and Tang Binsen. It manages three RMB funds with around RMB 2 billion in management.Challengers Capital focuses on areas like consumption upgrade, entertainment, gaming, enterprise services and fintech.
Co-founder of Tradiio
Former journalist Miguel Leite had founded two businesses, Punch and FullFlex Interactive Media, before establishing Tradiio in 2014. The ex-label manager of Universal Music Portugal saw first-hand the challenges faced by emerging artists to make a living from their music. The music platform Tradiio aims to help artists sell their music directly to consumers via paid music downloads.Leite has a master’s in Business Communication from Barcelona's Pompeu Fabra University. He is the founder of blockchain and cryptocurrency research project Coinvision, in addition to co-founding BetProtocol as CMO of the blockchain-powered platform for betting sites.
Former journalist Miguel Leite had founded two businesses, Punch and FullFlex Interactive Media, before establishing Tradiio in 2014. The ex-label manager of Universal Music Portugal saw first-hand the challenges faced by emerging artists to make a living from their music. The music platform Tradiio aims to help artists sell their music directly to consumers via paid music downloads.Leite has a master’s in Business Communication from Barcelona's Pompeu Fabra University. He is the founder of blockchain and cryptocurrency research project Coinvision, in addition to co-founding BetProtocol as CMO of the blockchain-powered platform for betting sites.
CEO and founder of Les Noveaux Affineurs
Nour Akbaraly completed a master’s in engineering at Centrale Lille and also a master’s in applied mathematics at Lille University in 2010. In 2011, Akbaraly joined industrial manufacturing consultancy firm Avencore as a consultant in Paris.The avid photographer and F&B enthusiast also went to various tea-tasting classes at a tea specialist college until 2015. Passionate about gastronomy, he began exploring alt-protein alternatives to address the environmental and ethical challenges of food supply chains.In 2016, he went on an engineering training course for agronomy and agri-food at AgroSup Dijon, the National Institute of Agronomic, Food and Environmental Sciences.A year later, he founded Les Noveaux Affineurs, a startup specializing in plant-based alternatives to cheese. His ambition is to create a new range of French gastronomic vegan cheese products for consumers in France and overseas.Since 2010, Akbaraly is also a volunteer at the Action Contre la Faim, a Paris-based international NGO founded in 1979. The “Action Against Hunger” projects include running awareness campaigns on food security issues in colleges and schools in France and other countries like India and Sudan.
Nour Akbaraly completed a master’s in engineering at Centrale Lille and also a master’s in applied mathematics at Lille University in 2010. In 2011, Akbaraly joined industrial manufacturing consultancy firm Avencore as a consultant in Paris.The avid photographer and F&B enthusiast also went to various tea-tasting classes at a tea specialist college until 2015. Passionate about gastronomy, he began exploring alt-protein alternatives to address the environmental and ethical challenges of food supply chains.In 2016, he went on an engineering training course for agronomy and agri-food at AgroSup Dijon, the National Institute of Agronomic, Food and Environmental Sciences.A year later, he founded Les Noveaux Affineurs, a startup specializing in plant-based alternatives to cheese. His ambition is to create a new range of French gastronomic vegan cheese products for consumers in France and overseas.Since 2010, Akbaraly is also a volunteer at the Action Contre la Faim, a Paris-based international NGO founded in 1979. The “Action Against Hunger” projects include running awareness campaigns on food security issues in colleges and schools in France and other countries like India and Sudan.
CEO and co-founder of X1 Wind / PivotBuoy
Trained in mechanical engineering, Alex Raventos graduated from the MIT-Portugal’s Executive Master’s program focused on sustainable energy systems. In 2017 he joined the prestigious Global Solution Program led by Singularity University at NASA Research Park in Mountain View, California, where talents meet to develop innovative technology and groundbreaking solutions that address the greatest challenges for humanity today.Raventos has gained significant experience as head of economics and project coordinator in companies in the energy sector such as WavEC Offshore Renewables and Bluewater.In 2014 he founded Inn2Grid, consulting companies in renewable energy and focused on ocean energy technologies. Since 2017 he has been CEO and co-founder of X1 Wind, a Barcelona-based startup developing a downwind turbine technology to reduce the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) in offshore wind plants.
Trained in mechanical engineering, Alex Raventos graduated from the MIT-Portugal’s Executive Master’s program focused on sustainable energy systems. In 2017 he joined the prestigious Global Solution Program led by Singularity University at NASA Research Park in Mountain View, California, where talents meet to develop innovative technology and groundbreaking solutions that address the greatest challenges for humanity today.Raventos has gained significant experience as head of economics and project coordinator in companies in the energy sector such as WavEC Offshore Renewables and Bluewater.In 2014 he founded Inn2Grid, consulting companies in renewable energy and focused on ocean energy technologies. Since 2017 he has been CEO and co-founder of X1 Wind, a Barcelona-based startup developing a downwind turbine technology to reduce the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) in offshore wind plants.
Unreasonable Capital is a US-based venture capital firm. It focuses on early to mid-stage startups in emerging markets that address social and environmental challenges. The firm does not lead investments on its own, participating only when a local entity participates in financing. Its portfolio includes Nigerian fintech firm Paga, Indonesian automated fish feeder maker eFishery and solar power system producer BuffaloGrid.
Unreasonable Capital is a US-based venture capital firm. It focuses on early to mid-stage startups in emerging markets that address social and environmental challenges. The firm does not lead investments on its own, participating only when a local entity participates in financing. Its portfolio includes Nigerian fintech firm Paga, Indonesian automated fish feeder maker eFishery and solar power system producer BuffaloGrid.
Founded in 2017 by the ex-CEO of Credit Suisse bank Gaël de Boissard, 2B Capital is venture capital firm based in London. Its first investment in CrowdProcess Inc and the startup's James risk management platform was as part of a US$2.7-million seed funding in August 2017. The VC primarily invests in fintech and structured credit and mezzanine lending to the new lenders and challenger banks.
Founded in 2017 by the ex-CEO of Credit Suisse bank Gaël de Boissard, 2B Capital is venture capital firm based in London. Its first investment in CrowdProcess Inc and the startup's James risk management platform was as part of a US$2.7-million seed funding in August 2017. The VC primarily invests in fintech and structured credit and mezzanine lending to the new lenders and challenger banks.
The Craftory is a London-based investment house with a satellite office in San Francisco. Founded in 2018 by retail and media industry veterans Ernesto Schmitt and Ellio Leoni Sceti, the firm has made seven investments in various consumer goods brands. Sceti is also the chairman of London-based family VC firm LSG Holdings, with his brother Patrick as the MD.The Craftory’s $375m fund specializes in building a new investment house of consumer brands, hence its name from the words, “craft" and “factory.” It mainly offers permanent and growth capital to consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. The Craftory supports CPG challenger brands to help them to grow from “craft” businesses to sustainable, mass CPG brands, offering consumers better choices for everyday products.
The Craftory is a London-based investment house with a satellite office in San Francisco. Founded in 2018 by retail and media industry veterans Ernesto Schmitt and Ellio Leoni Sceti, the firm has made seven investments in various consumer goods brands. Sceti is also the chairman of London-based family VC firm LSG Holdings, with his brother Patrick as the MD.The Craftory’s $375m fund specializes in building a new investment house of consumer brands, hence its name from the words, “craft" and “factory.” It mainly offers permanent and growth capital to consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. The Craftory supports CPG challenger brands to help them to grow from “craft” businesses to sustainable, mass CPG brands, offering consumers better choices for everyday products.
Founded in 1999, TLCOM Capital now has offices in Kenya, Nigeria and the UK. Originally a global VC investor, its key investment objective now is to tackle Africa’s greatest challenges via its TIDE Africa Fund that was established in 2017.Total funding to date stands at $300m and investments range from $500,000 to $10m. It currently has 12 portfolio companies and has managed 13 exits. Recent investments include the $6m Series A round of Kenyan agro-focused insurtech PULA and the $7.5m Series A round of Nigerian edtech uLesson Education.
Founded in 1999, TLCOM Capital now has offices in Kenya, Nigeria and the UK. Originally a global VC investor, its key investment objective now is to tackle Africa’s greatest challenges via its TIDE Africa Fund that was established in 2017.Total funding to date stands at $300m and investments range from $500,000 to $10m. It currently has 12 portfolio companies and has managed 13 exits. Recent investments include the $6m Series A round of Kenyan agro-focused insurtech PULA and the $7.5m Series A round of Nigerian edtech uLesson Education.
MIWA Technologies: Reducing food waste and packaging with smart refill vending system
MIWA’s solution lets consumers buy exact refill quantities in personalized containers, eradicating need for single-use plastics throughout the supply chain
SWITCH Singapore: Embracing a circular economy, the whys and the hows
Its benefits for the environment aside, going circular could also lead to new economic growth, better public health and higher value-add employment, experts say
Circular economy: Discarded goods get a new lease of life in Spain
From e-chargers inside phone booths, recycling chatbots to refurbished stadium seats from Atlético Madrid, the offbeat magic of the circular economy is fast becoming a lucrative business in Spain
MatMap: Making the construction sector more sustainable
Alicante-based startup MatMap gives a second lease of life to used construction materials that account for almost a third of EU waste
Huidu Environmental: Creating a circular economy to ease online retail's parcel waste woes
China's billion-dollar courier industry finds much-needed solution in Huidu's eco-friendly, low-cost boxes and smart recycling system
Biomede: Harnessing plants’ natural attributes to decontaminate soil
The Lyon-based startup says using plants to remove harmful metals from the earth is a sustainable, cost-effective green alternative to decontaminate soil in agricultural or urban environments
Tezign, where design meets technology
By building a bridge between creative talents and enterprises, this Chinese startup is providing designers with more work opportunities
Beyond Leather Materials: Turning apples into alt-leather for sustainable fashion
Through its Leap brand, the Danish startup cuts food waste by turning apples junked in cider factories into affordable vegan leather for the $100bn leather market
ADBioplastics primed to help EU manufacturers transition to circular economy
ADBioplastics has developed a biodegradable and compostable bioplastic additive for use in food packaging and is seeking up to €5m in funding
BeePlanet Factory: Recycling EV batteries as a sustainable, profitable business
With 4kWh–200kWh residential and industrial battery packs, the Pamplona-based startup wants to scale its energy storage solutions in the agri-food sector, camping sites and mountain huts
Wondaswim recycles dumped fishing nets to make sustainable swimwear, reduce ocean pollution
Lisbon-based startup by German co-founders creates sustainable swimwear for all body sizes, targeted at millennials
RecyGlo, Myanmar's first circular economy waste management system, targets regional growth
Turning trash into cash, Yangon-based recycling pioneer RecyGlo wants to extend its zero-waste circular economy model to the rest of Southeast Asia
String Bio: Asia's first startup to harness methane gas for protein production
Using bacteria to turn the harmful greenhouse gas into a purer form of protein, String Bio is raising Series B funding to scale production
Spain’s 100% renewable energy goal: How its startup ecosystem is rising to the challenge
Energy majors and public entities are backing renewable energy startups in the country's bet on the Green Economy
Cocuus: Industrial-scale solutions to design and print food
This Spanish startup is pioneering industrial-scale 3D food printing using inkjet and laser technology that prints up to 30 times faster with eye-catching food designs
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