05 Dec 2022
After a successful edition of the 2021 #EYESONGREEN regional competition, this year’s competition highlighted water issues in the region and is therefore named #EYESONBLUE. The public OPEN CALL has being launched on the occasion of World Ocean Day, June 8th 2022, highlighting the urgency of dealing with water-related challenges and encourage citizens of the region to find innovative solutions that deal with the issue.
The competition aimed at selecting the best 3 Blue entrepreneurs whose projects focus on water or the Blue Economy in 8 countries of the Southern Mediterranean region: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia.
The #EYESONBLUE awards ceremony took place during SwitchMed Connect on 10 November 2022 in Rimini (Italy) within the framework of Ecomondo, the leading trade show for green technologies in the Mediterranean basin.
Held jointly, the 25th Ecomondo and the 15th Key Energy show of the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) gathered around 70000 visitors and 1400 exhibitors, including 167 participants invited for the SwitchMed Connect.
The public ceremony has been a unique opportunity to showcase the best 8 innovative sustainable business models and entrepreneurs in the Blue Economy, selected by a jury and later by a public vote system.
WHO ARE THE SHORTLISTED GREEN ENTREPRENEURS?
DrillSERV offers a unique solution for the survey, monitoring and management of groundwater resources
Blue filter, is a Palestinian innovation that treats water from pollutants (nitrates) in a cheap, environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.
Petra green is a genius water waste solution that helps secure daily need of drinking water on a permanent, safe and cheaper basis than bottled water.
IrriApp is a web and mobile application offering a real-time monitoring and irrigation management system for farmers, while promoting sustainable, green solutions to combat water scarcity.
Dracoss an innovative Tunisian start-up that produces wastewater recycling machines targeted at restaurants and hotels, thus reducing their water consumption.
Qout Lybia is a the first vertical farm employing women in Lybia
Chitosan Egypt turns shrimp and organic waste into organic amendment enable farmers to have healthier soils and water systems and to grow pesticidefree and toxin-free crops.
AND THE WINNERS ARE?
First prize: our Tunisian Switcher Mohamed Makki Maalej founder IrriApp. In 2017, Maalej was part of the SwitchMed Incubation Program with the project M2M and says it has largely helped set his green business plan. “They helped me define what my target audience is as well as foresee the impact of my initiative on the environment,” he notes. He then won the elevator pitch contest in 2018, before joining the community of Switchers. Maalej won this time a cash prize of €2,000 and; €2,000 voucher to spend on services or trainings for the business.
Jordanian Mohsen Abu Haifa founder of Petra green won the second Prize, a cash prize of €1,750 and €1,750 voucher to spend on services or trainings for the business.
Third Prize was handed to Egyptian Shahira Yahia Chief Marketing Officer of Chitosan Egypt representing the startup. She received a cash prize of €1,000 and €1,000 voucher to spend on services or trainings for the business.
A fourth prize, the jury coup de coeur, was given to Qout Lybia for their outstanding efforts in empowering women, in Lybia.
Winners will also have access to TheSwitchers.org platform. MedWaves will ensure follow-up of the technical assistance with the winners for a more efficient implementation of the vouchers.
The EyesOnBlue competition has been organized by the European Commission Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), EU Neighbours South, and the SwitchMed programme.