After the celebration of a pitching and showcasing event, which was organized by Berytech, 11 start-ups who are part of the STAND Up! Growing Innovation Program took the chance to present their projects to a board of jury members. Four start-ups were selected to receive additional business and financial support to become more competitive and seize business opportunities in the Mediterranean.

Out of the 131 applicants to the program, 22 projects were selected to join the program and were then narrowed down to 11 to pitch their ideas in front of a pool of jury members and more than 110 attendees. The four finalists selected are:

• LvPxAlSama is an upcycling and embroidery service that supports female artisans in Lebanon with regular and fair employment.
• La Boutique Sociale is designing a solution to be able to shift from a traditional linear economy through keeping resources in use for as long as possible, recover and reuse materials by collecting and upcycling secondhand clothing as well as recycling fabrics.
• Sisters of the World is designing washable, affordable, leak-proof underwear made out of healthy, naturally absorbent, and eco-friendly material. 
• Lebamoz produces natural fibers and fabrics from banana pseudostems with a very low carbon footprint. 

The STAND Up! project, funded by the EU under the ENI CBC Med programme, aims to enhance scalable, replicable, and inclusive circular economy ventures in the Mediterranean by developing an ecosystem of business support, innovation, and technology transfer that will lead to sustainable job creation for youth and women.

For more information

Press release

STAND Up! project