AB InBev’s 100+ Sustainability Accelerator Holds 2nd Demo Day with 13 Startups
AB InBev’s second cohort of startups in the 100+ Sustainability Accelerator, powered by Highline Beta, came to an end with the #DemoDay100 event. The event was attended by partners, NGOs, investors, large corporates, AB InBev employees and more. The goal of 100+ Accelerator is to fast-track pilots between startups and AB InBev and help validate their solutions in the sustainability space across climate action, circular packaging, smart agriculture, water stewardship and smart drinking.
#DemoDay100 kicked-off with a keynote delivered by Lindsay Levin, founder of Leaders’ Quest. Lindsay also co-led the launch of Future Stewards, a coalition that is working to build a regenerative future. Carlos Brito Chief Executive Officer at AB InBev introduced Lindsay and AB InBev’s sustainability goals, alongside Tony Milikin, Chief Procurement, Circular Ventures, Sustainability and Vertical Operations Officer, Ezgi Barcenas, Global Head of Sustainability and Maisie Devine, Global Director, Sustainability Investments & Accelerator.
The #DemoDay100 startups were split into six challenges, including:
- Farm X: Oko, ZoomAgri
- Every Single Drop: Gybe, Asarasi
- Close the Loop: Conscious Container, Ecopackers, Nomo, Plataforma Verde
- Carbon Action: Greenline
- Smart Drinking: Club Soda
- Waste to Wellbeing: CometBio, CHB, Shianco
Throughout the accelerator program, Highline Beta and AB InBev helped startups navigate pilot engagements, provided mentorship, and programming on topics including fundraising, international sales, marketing, PR, go-to-market strategies and more.
“Being a part of the 100+ Sustainability Accelerator with AB InBev and Highline Beta has been a fantastic experience. As a Canadian green-tech startup, the opportunity to work on multiple global pilots with AB InBev, has brought us one step closer to launching truly sustainable eco-friendly plastics that perfectly fit into AB InBev’s production and supply chains. The mentorship and support we’ve received from Highline Beta and AB InBev throughout the experience has helped us build a more scalable product and the 100+ Accelerator program kept us all focused on delivering great results.”
– Nuha Siddiqui, CEO & Co-founder @ EcoPackers Inc.
AB InBev has ambitious sustainability goals that it’s aiming to achieve by 2025. Recognizing it can’t achieve these goals alone, the company launched the 100+ Sustainability Accelerator in partnership with Highline Beta. Our goal with the program is to design an accelerator that helps startups pilot more quickly and effectively with AB InBev. Now that the second cohort is complete, we are announcing that applications will be open for Cohort 3 in January. If you would like to find more information you can do so at https://100accelerator.com and join the waitlist.
The second cohort kicked off in New York in February 2020, but with the unexpected impact of COVID-19, we adapted to a completely virtual model. To find out more about the startups that presented at #100DemoDay, you can view them below:
- Asarasi (Katonah, United States) – Sustainable, renewable plant-based water
- CH Bioforce Oy (Espoo, Finland) – Developer of biomass fractionation technology
- Club Soda (London, UK) – Club Soda is a movement of mindful drinkers
- Comet Bio (London, Canada) – Healthy and sustainable ingredients from upcycled crop leftovers
- Conscious Container (Truckee, United States) – Refillable glass bottle marketplace
- EcoPackers (Toronto, Canada) – Plant-powered eco resins for eco-friendly and non-toxic single-use plastic manufacturing
- Greenline Africa (Johannesburg, South Africa) – Solar thermal solution provider offering the best solution for heat
- Gybe (Portland, United States) – Water quality monitoring in real-time at a watershed or regional scale
- Nomo Waste (Bogota, Colombia) – Waste management and recycling solutions company
- OKO (Tel Aviv, Israel) – Weather-index insurance for farmers in emerging markets
- Plataforma Verde (São Paulo, Brazil) – Traceability solution for industrial inputs and solid waste management
- Shianco (Shunde, China) – Technology used to manufacture “wooden” products with the raw material of “rice husk”, taking place of wood
- Zoom Agri (Coslada, Madrid) – Quality determination of agriculture commodities via image processing
The second cohort did an incredible job working with AB InBev to improve sustainability around the world. We look forward to sharing more of their stories in the coming months.
Please visit 100+ Sustainability Accelerator and join the waitlist for details on the 3rd cohort. Applications will open up in January 2021!