Innovation Challenge: Meet the finalists!

About the Swiss Award

Sustainability is a priority in Swiss foreign policy and an especially relevant issue in Brazil. In the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development framework, Brazil and Switzerland seek a balance between preserving and protecting the environment and integrating innovative economies and inclusive growth.

The first edition of the Sustainability and Innovation Award was created to bring together strategic management strengths based on the transition to a sustainable, technological, and innovative business model, jointly with the private, academic, and civil society sectors, and to foster potential collaborations in the area of corporate sustainability between Brazil and Switzerland.

The Award aims to recognize and strengthen Brazilian and Swiss companies and startups with corporate sustainability and innovation as a pillar of their business strategy and institutional culture.

It also gives visibility and opportunities for startups to develop pilots and partnerships with companies operating in Brazil through the Innovation Challenge led by Swissnex in Brazil.

The Team Switzerland in Brazil, represented by the Embassy of Switzerland in Brazil, Swissnex in Brazil, The Ekos Institute Brasil, The Swiss Business Hub, and SWISSCAM, is launching the very first Swiss Sustainability and Innovation Award, aiming at uniting the strengths of knowledge between Brazil and Switzerland in that area.

Meet the finalists!

One Swiss and one Brazilian solution will be awarded and recognized by a panel of Swiss and Brazilian experts in innovation and sustainability. The finalists will be able to present their solutions to companies interested in testing their technologies and conducting open innovation pilots together during the Award Ceremony on 05 July 2023.

The representative of each startup that will make the final Pitch at the live competition during the Award Ceremony answered the question: How does your solution help transform the waste generated by companies operating in Brazil to achieve the goal of zero waste?

See the answers and meet the startups below!

Swiss Startups

Meet LiYF by Sasit Lab

LiYF 2G Bioethanol by Sasit Lab
Hangama Wanner
LiYF’s groundbreaking 2G bioethanol technology can convert Brazilian agricultural waste into high-value, renewable energy, reducing emissions and waste. This innovative approach promotes job creation, advances a circular economy, and aligns with UN Sustainability Goals.
Meet Sustainable Ingredients by Upgrain

Sustainable Ingredients by Upgrain
Vincent Vida
Sustainable Ingredients saves barley grains from brewing to produce protein and fiber products. ‘By upcycling BSG, we valorize the food industry’s largest waste stream, enabling circularity in breweries. This not only prevents waste but also reduces reliance on alternative plant-based proteins. The BSG is transformed into valuable proteins, flours, and fibers, without using additional land or water.
Meet Groam Tech

Groam Tech
Zuzana Sedivà
Groam is on a mission to convert agricultural biomass side streams into new biodegradable foamed materials. We hope to convert side streams into sustainable packaging and fast disposables.

Brazilian Startups

Meet Yattó

Yattó
Luiz Otávio Grilo
Yattó develops recycling chains for materials that are difficult to recycle, impacting the agribusiness, civil construction, and food and beverage segments. We transform waste into opportunity with social, environmental, and economic impact.
Meet Sante Science

Sante Science
Marcela Camargo
Considering the difficult disposal of Brewer Spent Grain, its high impact on the environment, and the needs of oncology patients, Sante Science technology can biotransform 100% of BSG into a nutraceutical supplement for chemotherapy, improving people’s quality of life with ZERO waste.
Meet SuperOpa

SuperOpa
Luis Borba
In order to solve the food waste problem, SuperOpa developed a technology that directly connects companies and industries with oversupply problems with consumers that now can save up to 70% on their groceries! Let’s save money and the environment.