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Seoul, Republic of Korea | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan innovators Kimuli Fashionability are one of the three winners of the 2019 Greenpreneurs Business Pitch Competition.
The winners are Kimuli Fashionability that aims to transform waste into up-cycled fashion while providing employment opportunities to people with disabilities; Rento-Rewa (India), an online platform to facilitate the distribution of recycled water andIsdabest (Philippines), a sustainable seafood and coastal community empowerment model.
Kimuli Fashionability strives to transform the plastic waste crisis in Africa into employment opportunities for persons with disabilities through an upcycling fashion label.
They train and employ local persons with disabilities to collect and wash plastic waste and tailor them with traditional African fabrics to create beautiful garments and accessories.
Kimuli aims to address the issue of plastic while also bringing awareness to and empowering persons with disabilities, who are often disenfranchised and faced with stigma and little prospects for employment in their community.
The three winning teams will each receive $5,000 USD in small-scale seed funding to assist them with scaling up their enterprises into the next stages.
The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), Student Energy, and Youth Climate Lab announced the winners Friday after an intensive 12-weeks for the shortlisted candidates to develop their business proposals, consult with their mentors, and participate in weekly webinars on how to finance and scale-up their green enterprises. Among the 15 shortlisted teams for this year’s competition, over half of them were led by women.
“The three winning teams were all founded by innovative women with from diverse backgrounds, all with the ambition to bring positive impacts to their communities. As women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change, it’s crucial to recognize the importance of women’s leadership and innovation in developing new solutions,” said the organisers GGGI.
Later this month, a selected representative from each of winning teams will fly to the GGGI HQ in Seoul to receive their award and pitch their business at the GGGI General Council Meeting GGGW2019.
About Greenpreneurs
Greenpreneurs is a twelve-week global green entrepreneurship accelerator and competition open to youth between the ages of 17 and 35. Youth may submit their idea for a solution that positively impacts the future of sustainable energy; water and sanitation; sustainable landscapes (forestry and agriculture); or green city development. The goal of Greenpreneurs is to unlock, accelerate and support the natural innovative tendencies of youth to foster a generation of climate and development leaders that are collaborative implementers of green solutions.
