Green start-ups from all over the world can sign up for the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge and stand a chance to win a total of €1 million in combined prize money for the five best start-ups, of which €500,000 is intended for the winner.
With this international competition, the Postcode Lottery is helping start-ups from around the world to bring their CO2-reducing innovations to market. Green entrepreneurs can submit their business plans via www.greenchallenge.info until 1 June 2018.
As part of its mission to contribute to a green world, this year the Postcode Lottery is organising this international competition for the 12thtime.
Marieke van Schaik, Managing Director of the National Postcode Lottery, “We are being confronted with the consequences of climate change around the world. At the Postcode Lottery, we are working towards a green and just world. We do so by supporting charities, but also by giving start-ups with amazing green innovations a boost. The drive and the creativity of these entrepreneurs is admirable, and very much needed to make our lifestyle more sustainable. With the prize money and our global platform, we want to help them move forward. I look forward to this year’s entries.”
Green entrepreneurs can enter their business plans until 1 June. In mid-July, the preliminary jury will announce the 25 nominees, and one month later, it will announce which five entries have been selected for the finale in Amsterdam on 13 September 2018. There, the start-ups will pitch their ideas to an international jury.
In the finale, the jury will decide who wins the first prize of €500,000 and which start-up is the runner-up, winning €200,000. Since 2016, the other three finalists also win €100,000. In addition to the prize money, all finalists will receive over six months of expert coaching to optimise their business opportunities.
Last year, the Rwandese start-up EarthEnable won with a sustainable alternative to cement. The Dutch Postcode Lottery has organised the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge annually since 2007 to help contribute to a greener world. It is one of the world’s biggest annual competitions in the field of sustainable business plans. The competition focuses on starting, innovative and creative entrepreneurs. Green products or services that reduce CO2 emissions and score highly on design, user friendliness and quality are eligible to win.
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Each participant must submit a detailed business plan that is subsequently assessed by the preliminary jury. Winners of previous editions have gone on to be successful with their innovative products, thanks in part to the publicity and network surrounding the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge.
In 2017, the winner was Gayatri Datar (b. 1985), with her Rwandese start-up EarthEnable. EarthEnable makes floors from local, natural materials, which are sealed using a plant-based oil. This innovation improves the health and lives of the world’s poorest people and ensures significant reductions in COemissions, as it eliminates the need for cement floors.
