Veolia Middle East Launches Inaugural Accelerator Programme To Help Support Middle East Startups And Innovative SMEs And Create A Sustainable Future

Veolia Middle East, the world leader in resource management in environmental services, has announced a first-of-its-kind acceleration and mentoring programme, which aims to support startups and innovative SMEs across the Middle East that focus on creating a more sustainable future, whilst giving back to the community.

In line with Veolia’s Impact 2023 Strategy, an enterprise project which traces a clear and ambitious route defined by the company’s purpose of contributing to human progress and becoming a gold standard company for ecological transformation, the pioneering Accelerator Programme will allow startups to put forward and pitch their innovative prototypes that are aligned with Veolia’s business model and expertise, with high potential for reproducibility worldwide.

Starting from 25th October, and in a bid to create an ecosystem and enhance local anchorage within the innovation space, selected applicants who successfully embark upon Veolia’s Accelerator Programme will take part in numerous pitching stages in front of Veolia’s management teams, resulting in four winning startups securing a place in the acceleration stage in 2021.

Each startup in the acceleration stagewill benefit from Veolia’s mentorship, and gain access to the company’s network of highly trained experts, laboratories, and tools to test and benchmark their solutions. A monthly allowance of $1,000 will also be funded to each successful startup during the acceleration stage.

Veolia’s Accelerator Programme aims to strengthen the culture of innovation and inspire a change of mindset amongst startups and SMEs in the Middle East that focus on tackling challenges, such strengthening the economic balance of the recycling businesses, developing a recycling culture in the Middle East, and re-inventing and disrupting the waste collection business.

The Accelerator Programme application and selection process:

  • 25th October – 5th December: The Accelerator Programme opens and welcomes online applications which will be administered by Veolia – To apply https://bit.ly/35DMcD9

Selected start-ups will be invited to pitch to the Veolia Management team in December. The cooperation phase will start early 2021.

At the start of the cooperation, an exclusive team will be built in order to help support each startup. Each team will consist of at least one executive and one industrial mentor, or a subject matter expert from Veolia, who will provide guidance to the startup and facilitate the interactions with Veolia’s experts, in line with the agreed programme.

Discussing the programme, Sébastien Chauvin, CEO of Veolia Middle East, said: “We are extremely excited to launch this momentous Accelerator Programme and we look forward to watching the initiative unfold. All Gulf countries have set up ambitious targets to divert waste from landfill and develop recycling schemes. Today, only 10% of the generated waste is effectively recycled. Through this programme, we aim to pave the way toward a more circular economy and inspire and support the bright new minds within the industry who are trying to promote a sustainable lifestyle. There is a huge need to look at alternate ways to make a difference and boost our endeavors for ecological transformation.”

“The Middle East is taking great strides towards fast-tracking sustainable initiatives and we are proud to be able to support these strategic goals and help build a green-economy.”

To enter Veolia’s Accelerator Programme, please follow the link below for further rules and regulations:

https://bit.ly/35DMcD9