Last night, a Demo Day was held in the premises of IEC Tehnopolis within the RISE program (Regional Incubator for Social Entrepreneurs), where five Montenegrin teams presented their innovative solutions in the field of social entrepreneurship.
The presentations were the result of four months of work within the IDEATION phase, in which teams, with the support of international and national mentors, developed their innovative solutions in response to identifying key and current societal problems and challenges.
According to the decision of the five-member jury, the first place went to Prezla, and the second to the Earth Soldiers team. Both teams managed to enter the next phase of the program – the regional program of INCUBATION.
In addition to them, Social Gardens, Clean on a Click, and Promo Montenegro also presented themselves at the Demo Day.
The Prezla team deals with solving the issue of food waste and environmental pollution that causes this waste, developing a platform/application that will allow restaurants (hotels, shops …) to sell the excess daily supply and expired food at a better price. The winners did not hide their satisfaction with the program: “We are grateful to the RISE program and Tehnopolis for their unique support in developing the Prezla idea,” said Jovana Cadjenovic, a member of the winning team, “would be successful in the market. We are looking forward, above all, to being surrounded by people with great enthusiasm and energy, who recognized that in us at the Demo Day itself. Tehnopolis has prepared a great finale for us in the first phase, and the exciting journey of implementing the idea is yet to come and we are ready to succeed in it!“
The Earth Soldiers team also has big plans to continue the program. Their idea is to open a summer camp that has the task of educating children about climate change through workshops in nature and to teach children about entrepreneurship through recycling. Children will make their items, place them on the market and reduce the harmful impact on the environment, while waste disposal, composting, and growing organic food are of primary importance for the camp. Luka Minic, a member of the team, says that the RISE program helped them crystallize the idea, research the market and eliminate the irregularities they had, and they started promoting the idea on social networks: “We believe that the whole program, as well as Demo Day, is perfect an opportunity for people to get acquainted with the idea, offer advice / possible cooperation, and to be heard specifically for you, make an acquaintance. I would recommend it to everyone because this is something that can launch you into the market and help you promote your product/service in the best possible way. I would also like to mention the selfless support of IEC Tehnopolis, which has always been available for any assistance or support because without them we would not have been able to start what we started.”
Prezla and Earth Soldiers continue their RISE journey through the regional INCUBATION phase of 6 months, wherewith ten other selected teams from the Western Balkans will receive direct financial support of € 2,500.00 per team and non-financial support in the form of capacity-building activities and further development of key segments of their idea through testing and validation of business models, market analysis and research, development of marketing strategies, financing and validation of ideas through alternative financing models such as crowdfunding.
The RISE program aims to develop the ecosystem of social entrepreneurship in the Western Balkans and provide support to young people to develop innovative solutions to the most pressing social problems, thus contributing to reconciliation and cooperation in the region. IEC Tehnopolis is a strategic partner from Montenegro and one of the 6 strategic partners that implement this program in the Western Balkans in cooperation with ARNO, Balkan Green Foundation, Nesto vise, Smart Kolektiv, and Yunus Social Business.
The RISE project is funded and coordinated by a consortium consisting of the Regional Office for Youth Cooperation (RYCO), GROUPE SOS Pulse, the South East European Youth Network (SEEIN), the Francais Institute, and the Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ).
You can see the Demo Days gallery at the link.
