08 Jun Pop Up India 2.0 Workshop Leads to Selection of Final Winners

Ennovent partnered with Veolia, a global leader for optimised resource management, to implement Veolia’s Pop Up programme in India. Pop Up India is a unique program to boost open innovation and co-creation between Veolia and promising startups to address existing business challenges and explore new opportunities with social and environmental impact in India. The first edition of Pop Up India was launched in 2018 and focused on co-creating business solutions in the space of waste and water.

Following the success of its first edition, Pop Up India 2.0 was launched in February 2020 and called for applications from social enterprises working in the waste-to-value sector in India, primarily in feedstock collection for biomass to energy. 

During due diligence visits

We received over 30 applications for Pop Up India 2.0 and shortlisted four of them through a multi-tiered selection process, including experts’ assessments and interviews. A team composed of representatives from Ennovent and Veolia also visited the four shortlisted organisations for detailed due diligence. Before making the final decision about the organisations, the four organisations joined us in New Delhi for an interactive business pitch and co-creation workshop. The workshop was the final step in the selection process for Pop UP 2.0. Before the second wave of COVID-19 hit the country, the workshop was scheduled for 1 – 2 March 2021, following all necessary protocols.

This two-day workshop was focused on opening up discussions with the entrepreneurs about their business plan and being part of the round table with Guillaume Dourdin – CEO & Managing Director, Veolia India, along with other sectoral experts. 

On Day 1, the Veolia India and Ennovent team spent over two hours with each organisation discussing their business model. The team comprising leaders from both organisations offered suggestions to fine-tune their presentations for the next day. On day 2, each entrepreneur presented their case to an expert panel:

• Sheilaja Singh – DGM, Health & Safety, MarCom, Sustainability, Veolia India; 
• Merzak Belkhodja – Director, Technical & Performance Department, and Industrial Operations, Veolia India; 
• Aniruddha Sharma – CEO, Carbon Clean Solutions Limited 

Each entrepreneur spent a total of half-hour with the panel, including time for Q&A. In the second half of Day 2, we hosted a round-table discussion with experts from Veolia India, including Guillaume Dourdin and the entrepreneurs. The discussion touched upon market trends, technologies, and practices in waste management and carbon sequestration.

These conversations provided the basis for the final decision about the organisations selected to work with Veolia India on Pop Up 2.0. As a result, two organisations made the final cut: 

• A2P Energy works towards resolving the paddy straw burning problem by putting up sustainable projects for converting the straw into valuable products like energy and soil conditioners. The business aims to provide value to all the stakeholders starting from the farmers.
• Krimanshi works on sustainable and unconventional feed systems to feed our animals by valorizing food residues and surplus into highly nutritious feeds.

Both these organisations will co-create solutions with Veolia India as part of Pop Up 2.0. You will hear more about the projects co-created soon. Subscribe to our newsletter, and follow us on Linkedin for regular updates.