Shell LiveWIRE is a global social investment business development program whose vision is to strengthen local economies by promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and job creation. This year it was held for the first time in Mexico, by the hand of New Ventures.
The program started in Scotland in 1982 and now runs in 15 countries, where Shell has supported thousands of entrepreneurs to turn their brilliant ideas into a sustainable business, which in turn creates increased employment and income opportunities.
In its first edition in Mexico, Shell LiveWIRE supported 11 finalist companies through a process of strategic support and personalized mentoring that lasted five months. The closing of the program was held on November 14 during an event held at the Papalote Museo del Niño. There, the entrepreneurs presented their projects and competed for a contribution to the capital of their companies.
The winners were announced, after deliberation by the jury, on November 15 and are the following companies:
1st Place: $35,000 – Ecolana
The company founded by Alejandra Valdez and Lisseth Cordero is dedicated to promoting and innovating recycling through a platform that connects consumers with collection centers, advising companies with improvement strategies in plans and campaigns for correct waste disposal.
Ecolana works with consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands to communicate and market their recycling campaign through a fee-for-service model. Other services include consulting to CPGs to evaluate their packaging and assess whether it is recyclable in Mexico.
The platform charges for connecting CPG and consumer contacts with collection centers that develop the necessary links in the recycling value chain.
The application allows traceability of the brand’s packaging from where the consumer purchased the product to where it was recycled. Ecolana seeks to expand its model in Latin America to achieve greater impact. The company has been working on the creation of the largest collection center database in Mexico. To date, it has 70,000 downloads of its app and more than 500,000 recycling searches.
2nd place: $25,000- Solid Rain
This company represented by Leonardo Rico and Karina Hemmer, solid rainuses potassium-based polymers as the irrigation system, turning the water into a solid to reduce waste and evaporation for an efficient irrigation alternative to traditional systems.
The product, solid rain, is an alternative to traditional and expensive irrigation systems and addresses the challenges of climate change, such as infrequent and irregular rainfall, increased droughts and desertification.
It is installed in the root zone of any plant, tree, grass, crop or vegetable, keeping the roots hydrated for weeks without irrigation or rain, reducing water waste and allowing the plant to have a constant reserve of nutrients in the root zone. estate.
The solution is low maintenance with the capacity to solidify up to 400 liters of water per kilogram. Only the water taken by the plant is consumed, which allows savings in water, maintenance and fertilizers, supporting the productivity of seasonal agriculture that can be affected by changes in rainfall.
Solid Rain sells its solid rain product to farms in Latin America, the US and West Africa through regional distributors in nine countries and retailers located throughout Mexico.
This project was also a finalist in the Environmental Sustainability category of Top Ten Innovatorsa global competition designed to highlight and reward Impactful Shell LiveWIRE Entrepreneurs who are making positive contributions to social impact, environmental sustainability and business innovation.
This year the competition was open in three categories: Social Impact, Environmental Sustainability and Business Innovation. Each category had a winner, who received $20,000, and two finalists, who received $10,000, plus mentoring support for a year.
3rd place: $15,000 – Alis
Founded by Ramón De Hoyos and Jaime Villaseñor, Alis (Algae Innovation Solutions) offers biotechnological alternatives for wastewater treatment, as well as research and development of sustainable products from microalgae.
ALIS consists of an environmental biofilter based on microalgae. “Microalgae are the most efficient microorganisms on the planet in the photosynthesis process, doing it 100 times better than trees,” explains Ramón.
“With our biofilters we use treated residual water unfit for human consumption and atmospheric air that contains greenhouse gases, so that the microalgae carry out their task and through a bioremediation process, we obtain drinking water, oxygen that is released into the environment and a biomass of microalgae that is of high value and is used as an input for the generation of human and animal food products, biofuels, biofertilizers, pigment extraction, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products,” he adds.
Each ALIS biofilter has the capacity to mitigate 1 ton of Carbon Dioxide, 200,000 liters of wastewater are recycled and 500 kilograms of biomass are obtained.
The Shell LiveWIRE acceleration process
Shell LiveWIRE provided five months of personalized acceleration for each venture. For this, there was first an evaluation and diagnosis to identify the main areas of opportunity for each company.
Based on the entrepreneurship profile and its needs, leaders and experts were assigned who, based on their experience, can guide entrepreneurs during their acceleration process with biweekly individual mentoring sessions. This process, which lasted from June to October, was called OKR Mentors.
Shell Coaches were 12 members of the Shell Mexico team, who offered group workshop sessions, counseling and training to the participants, in the areas of Logistics and Transportation Security; Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE); KPIs, Planning and Inventory Management; Company Valuation; Relations with Government; HR as a Strategic Ally and Marketing in the Digital Age.
In addition, a visit was made to the Shell offices in Mexico and a session was given on Access to Financing for ventures, and a Media Training given by a Shell Coach.
Additionally, group workshops on Finance and Impact Measurement were offered, as well as preparation sessions on topics such as Storytelling and Pitch, given with the support of DAI (global advisors to the program).
New Ventures offered its support in more specialized needs of the program.
program closure
The Pitch Event was the culmination of the program, after finishing the Bootcamp. The finalists will present their pitches to different actors so that the winners of the program will be chosen.
“We are super happy and proud that ALIS was recognized for its way of impacting society and the environment with biotechnology. It was an honor to meet so many people working for our society. Thank you so much to the entire team of wonderful people who made this possible! This win is for everyone!
Ramón Alejandro De Hoyos, Alis co-founder.
Shell LiveWIRE finalist companies
The following are other finalist companies of the program, who presented a sample of their products on the night of the Pitch Event at Papalote Museo del Niño.
Business | Summary | Sector in which it operates |
aguagent | Dedicated to providing unlimited purified water to homes through the installation of advanced water purification equipment, seeking to democratize access to water. | Access to water and sanitation |
apinova | Dedicated to the development of beekeeping, they identify and train producers through the implementation of innovative work methodologies, creating more efficient productive units. | Beekeeping |
Biogea | Agro-technological products based on fungi and beneficial bacteria that increase the yield of agricultural crops in a sustainable way | Agrotech |
lime and corn | They are committed to rescuing (and protecting) biodiverse landraces, offering fair prices to small farmers, and turning their corn into products to sell to high-end restaurants. | food tech |
ION AG+ | Dedicated to supplying small rural populations in vulnerable situations with water and sanitation services through nanotechnological water disinfection systems. | Access to water and sanitation |
Benedict Market | They work directly with small producers under a fair trade model, bringing Mexican families closer to organic, agroecological and sustainable products. | Agriculture, Foodtech |
perfect | Dedicated to reducing food waste, managing waste and rescuing “imperfect” products that would otherwise be wasted due to their physical appearance or surplus. | food tech |
SUM / MBIO | It is based on the use of organic waste and bioenergy, dedicated to supporting the industry and communities to move towards management models based on the principles of the circular economy. | Recycling and waste management, Renewable energies |
Marisol Garcia Fuentes Editorial Director Emprende and Emprendedor.com. I am motivated by stories of tenacity and innovation.