Encouraging green business model in Vietnam
ClimateLaunchpad in Vietnam 2021: Competition for Cleantech Start-ups in Vietnam
Timelime of ClimateLaunchpad Vietnam 2021
HSF
Initiated by the EIT Climate-KIT – a Knowledge and Innovation Community supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, ClimateLaunchpad (CLP) is a competition for start-ups with ideas and innovation to address negative impacts of climate change. The competition is run by a central team located in the Netherlands, which is supported by national teams who organise the competition in 55 countries across the globe. In Vietnam, CLP has been organised by Centre for Creativity and Sustainability (CCS) with the support of Hanns Seidel Foundation Vietnam (HSF).
Out of many applicants, 16 teams were selected to the Bootcamp round. During the first two weeks of the competition, competing teams had chance to participate in highly interactive and intensive training sessions focusing on necessary skills and technical knowledge on various aspects of cleantech start-ups and impact entrepreneurship such as market segmentation, customer value proposition, financials and key value drivers, climate impact, experiment design, and comparative advantage. These training sessions aim at preparing the competing teams not only for the next rounds of the competition, but more importantly, for real life practices.
Mr Ron Bloemers offered virtual training sessions to competing teams during the Bootcamp round.
HSF
Out of the 16 competing teams, 9 teams have successfully made it to the National Final which was organised virtually on 25th August, bringing their innovative business ideas to fight against climate change in different sectors such as agriculture, tourism, mobility, manufacturing, packaging, and retailing. After pitching their business ideas, all finalists were faced with challenging questions from the panel of judges concerning various aspects of green business such as the feasibility, profitability, and sustainability of their business models.
In addition, CLP alumni were also invited to join the competition. Mr Jesse Tran – founder of Rens Original joined the Bootcamp round and shared interesting experiences of running a sustainable fashion start-up including those related to attracting investment, pricing, marketing, managing human resources, and understanding customer preferences. Mr Jesse Tran and his co-founder, Mr Son Chu won first prize of the CLP Finland in 2018 and participated in the CLP Global with their business model of making sneakers from coffee which have been worn and loved by customers in over 100 countries so far. During the National Final, Mr Nestor Catalan – first prize winner of the CLP Vietnam 2020 – also gave the finalists of the CLP Vietnam 2021 encouraging words while expressing his appreciation for the CLP and sharing valuable experiences of running a green start-up producing furniture and construction materials from plastic waste in Vietnam, especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Participants during the virtual National Final of the CLP Vietnam 2021
HSF
The CLP Vietnam 2021’s first prize went to eTails – the start-up with the idea of building and selling solar conversion kits for long-tail boats. Their products promise to reduce noise and energy consumption of long-tail boats, which will bring tourists more pleasant experiences with long-tail boats, lower costs for long-tail boat operators, and contribute to the development of sustainable coastal tourism in Vietnam and other ASEAN countries.
The second and third prizes went to team Smojeva and Galaxy Biotech, respectively. Both teams aim at finding eco-friendly solutions to increase shelf life for fruit and vegetables: while team Smojeva provides smart and mobile fruit processing services, team Galaxy Biotech produces bio-degradable “breathable” plastic bags from cassava starch for food packaging.
eTails – First prize winner of CLP Vietnam 2021
HSF
Together with winning teams from Japan, Singapore, the Philippine, and Australia, the three winning teams of the CLP Vietnam will join and pitch their brilliant sustainable business ideas aimed at tackling climate change at the virtual Regional Final - East, Southeast Asia & Australia which is scheduled on 26th September.