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Over 100 aspiring entrepreneurs submitted their sustainable business ideas for evaluation by renowned entrepreneurs and social innovators. After careful consideration, our judges selected the ten finalists:

• Aristide Kambale: enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and agricultural cooperatives to thrive
• Joshua Kao: utilising refugee tents to capture water for displaced families
• Martin Kiyeng: creating biodegradable and compostable nappies from agricultural waste
• Georgette Mukeshimana: establishing clinics to provide justice and support to victims of sexual and domestic violence
• Samantha Mureau: transforming grape skins into a durable material for the fashion industry
• Joseph Orya: providing education to marginalised communities
• Kolatat Phaiboonnukulkij: developing eco-friendly and low-energy construction materials
• Kenneth Uche: providing affordable and environmentally friendly cooking solutions
• Felix Weaver: changing the way that people learn

Based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), kiotaData is a digital platform developed by ikiotahub Ltd. in partnership with the Research and Scientific Expertise Center (CRES).

KiotaData aims to assist micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and agricultural cooperatives with access to finance and cross-border trade.

In the DRC, around 90% of MSMEs are unable to access formal financial services due to a lack of financial data and perceived lending risks. This leads to stagnant businesses and widespread poverty, which ultimately stifles the country's economic development.

To address this issue, the kiotaData platform offers a digital marketplace for businesses to connect with buyers and suppliers across the country. In addition, KiotaWallet's mobile application simplifies cross-border transactions with a stable digital cryptocurrency.

Living Waters Systems has developed the world's first rainwater catchment units for relief shelters in refugee camps.

A quarter of the world's population lacks access to clean drinking water due to poor infrastructure. Despite the potential of rainwater harvesting, very few solutions exist in refugee communities. These communities are becoming increasingly overcrowded and open water sources are easily susceptible to contamination. 

Living Waters Systems has created a collapsible, portable rainwater harvesting system. Rainwater is the cleanest source of naturally occurring water. By allowing families to collect it from their roofs, they can maintain a clean water source right at their doorstep.

Although rainwater is naturally clean, Living Waters Systems has included a basic screening filtration process to remove any residue that gets washed off the roof.

Ubuni Green is working on a new technology that will process natural fibres into a highly absorbent material, which will then be used to create 100% biodegradable and compostable nappies.

These nappies will be made from agricultural waste such as pineapple, maize husk, bamboo fibre, and banana fibre, and will not contain bleach or harmful chemicals. They will degrade within six months of disposal, 1,200 times faster than conventional nappies. This technology will eliminate the need for incineration and reduce carbon dioxide production.

Based in Kenya, Ubuni Green has adopted a cross-subsidisation model where urban families will purchase these nappies at a premium rate, subsidising the nappies for women living in deprived areas.

Kira-heal Rwanda plans to establish a series of mental health clinics to provide justice and mental health care to victims of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence and other forms of violence, as well as other members of society who need mental health care provision.

The provision will start at the village level, providing counselling and violence prevention. Trained coordinators will be stationed in the clinics to support legal offices and law enforcement to take cases of sexual violence to court. Victims will be encouraged to participate in individual and group therapy to help them work through their emotional stress.

Ultimately, Kira-heal Rwanda hopes to open clinics across the whole country.

is a pioneering business to business start-up that produces sustainable materials for the fashion and lifestyle industries.

Their innovation involves transforming grape skins into a durable alternative to leather. The raw material for this 'leather' comes from the organic vineyards in France, where grape skins are a by-product. The production of this leather does not involve the use of any toxic or carcinogenic chemicals, making it an eco-friendly option. Additionally, as the grape skin leather is organic, it can be safely returned to the soil once it has reached the end of its useful life.

Planet of the Grapes is committed to creating value from agricultural waste rather than depleting the planet's finite resources.

aim to provide high-quality education to marginalised communities, especially refugee women and girls, young individuals, and people living in remote areas.

These communities face limited access to education and relevant skills due to conflicts, displacement and economic constraints, disrupting traditional educational avenues. The problem is extensive: in Nigeria alone, over 20 million children are out of school, and 45% of those attending school leave without relevant skills.

To address this challenge, Peddle Innovation Labs have created portable, solar-powered digital classrooms that can overcome infrastructural barriers and empower learners to convert existing spaces into hubs for learning.

The mobile classroom is compact and easy to transport, with each unit containing a minimum of 50 mini-computers. These computers are driven by an artificial intelligence virtual platform that offers gamified micro-lessons in over 100 languages for both online and offline users.

Phytavaren Technology is a property technology start-up specialising in developing eco-friendly and low-energy building materials.

Phytavaren Technology believes in shaping the built environment so people can live longer and more sustainably through innovative approaches, integrative technology, and biophilic design.

Phytavaren Technology has developed the Interlocking Semi-Calcite Passive Brick (ISCPB) and other low-energy construction materials by integrating architectural solution design to address thermal regulation, carbon sequestration and structural integrity in construction.

Smokeless Briqs Energy Solutions addresses Nigeria's critical need for affordable, eco-friendly cooking solutions.

The company's smokeless briquettes are made from agricultural waste and burn longer than ordinary charcoal without producing any smoke or sparks. By using these briquettes, we can help to reduce deforestation and conserve the environment.

In addition to the briquettes, Smokeless Briqs Energy Solutions has also developed an eco-friendly smokeless stove. This stove is made from metal and electronic waste and has a stainless steel burn chamber. It can reach around 200℃ in less than 10 minutes, which is twice as fast as a traditional stove. Moreover, the stove has proprietary technology that converts the heat produced by the stove into around 30 watts of electricity, which can be used to charge mobile phones or provide lighting. This extra power source is especially important for communities that have limited access to electricity.

Thiiia have created Ultra Rapid, a learning technique that uses video or animation to present academic information along with music. The pairing of visual and auditory stimuli enhances cognitive processing and allows people of all cognitive abilities to learn more effectively.

It is estimated that in the UK, 15-20% of the population is neurodivergent, with thinking and learning styles that differ from what’s considered typical. For instance neurodivergent thinkers, such as those with autism (Leo Kanner, 1943), are noted to have very high musical abilities, and the Attention Deficit Disorder Association recommend learners with ADHD use short bursts of learning and mind-mapping, a spatial memory technique.

Until academic material can be correlated with sound, spatial geometry and engaging story-based contextual frameworks, the inequalities in success will persist. Traditional education methods may focus on listening, reading, and memorisation, but Ultra Rapid encodes information through sound, geometry, and emotion, similar to how the Alphabet Song encodes the letters of the alphabet. By presenting information this way, Ultra Rapid helps learners remember complex concepts by pairing them with easy-to-remember melodies.