OPPORTUNITY – The South Region promotes innovative projects to face the challenge of plastic pollution in the Mediterranean

In 2018, the Provence South Region launched the challenge “Zero plastic waste in the Mediterranean by 2030”, a challenge open to project leaders proposing solutions to reduce the quantity of plastic pollutants in the Mediterranean.

As part of its climate strategies and Méditerranée du futur, the Provence South Region has joined forces with ANIMA and its THE NEXT SOCIETY initiative to mobilize international innovators to answer this challenge shared by all the countries in the Mediterranean region.

Following the call for applications announced by President Renaud Muselier in November 2018, more than 60 proposals from 11 countries had been received. The 15 projects that passed the first selection stage all made the trip to participate in a bootcamp on 23 and 24 April 2019 in Marseille and at thecamp. On the programme: pitchs, networking and mentoring with the support of 15 experts from the entrepreneurial, institutional and associative ecosystem of the region for these projects from the South Region but also from Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco and the Netherlands.

The selected projects are part of a wide range of approaches (from preventive to curative), sectors (biomaterials, IoT, design, etc.), targets (from festivalgoers for Nenuu to industrial customers for Mushtic) and technological levels: from reusable beeswax-based food film MyBeeWrap to GreenCityZen connected water meter.

The names of the projects selected by the jury will be announced at Viva Technology 2019 in Paris. The winners will receive a financial bonus as well as a tailor-made support from Rising Sud to accelerate their project.

ANIMA would like to thank the project leaders and experts who participated in the challenge; the partners THE NEXT SOCIETY who contributed to sourcing solutions around the Mediterranean, in particular Yomken in Egypt and the MENA region, and Berytech in Lebanon; and the Southern Region, who made this collective adventure possible in the service of a sustainable future in the Mediterranean. Discover the 15 selected projects and the experts associated with the challenge

Discover the 15 selected projects and the experts associated with the challenge