WWF-PHL, startup entrepreneurs join pitch for plastic pollution-free future

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines partners with The Incubation Network (TIN), xchange, and make sense to continue its support for impact entrepreneurs in a bid to create innovative solutions towards a vision of no plastics in nature by 2030.

Plastic pollution threatens communities, marine life, and the Earth’s ecosystems. A recent WWF Philippines report estimated that about 2.15 million tonnes of plastics are generated annually in the country. To address this, WWF is implementing the No Plastics in Nature initiative where it works with cities, policy-makers, and businesses in eliminating unnecessary plastics, shifting to sustainable inputs, and doubling global reuse, recovery, and recycling. Part of this initiative is the Plastic Smart Cities, a global movement of cities and tourist destinations who are working on eliminating plastic pollution through innovation.

An earlier partnership between WWF Philippines, makesense and xchange in 2019 launched a key piece of the Plastic Smart Cities strategy: tapping impact entrepreneurship to address plastic waste. Impact enterprises are emerging as a sustainable solution to complex development challenges. When combined with other forms of support and capital in a blended finance model, the adoption of market-based models makes it possible to crowd-in investments, build an ecosystem, achieve sustainability, and scale solutions. In the Philippines, the plastic waste sector is a frontier sector. The partnership provided a boost to impact entrepreneurial innovations and sustainable solutions through hackathons, a sprint, and Makesense’s incubation program, Makesense academy, held in 2020.

The current partnership of WWF Philippines, The Incubation Network (TIN), xchange, and make sense is a follow on program to support impact entrepreneurs from both the WWF Philippines’ Plastic Smart Cities project and TIN’s Circular Innovation Jam.

“The Incubation Network is proud to partner with WWF, xchange, and make sense to tackle plastic pollution in the Philippines. One of our key focus areas is to build communities that nurture, grow and support holistic innovative solutions, and we are excited to see the strong community ecosystem that is being built through this program.” said Simon Baldwin, Director of The Incubator Network.

Over five months, from April to August this year, the entrepreneurs will learn from experts in innovation and systems thinking, marketing, accounting, strategic planning, the circular economy, gender lens investing, and pilot designing, among others. They will go through a rigorous process including classes, learning by doing workshops, interactions with mentors and ecosystem leaders, and peer learning activities in a safe space that will allow them to gain knowledge and skills, reflect, and build relationships with other stakeholders to help them establish their businesses and prepare them for investment readiness.

Executive Director Katherine P. Custodio shares, “Great leaps in environmental conservation have always been driven by innovation and our inherent desire to care for people and nature. That’s why we are happy to partner with xchange, The Incubation Network, and make sense who are key experts in the field of innovation. We are optimistic and excited to tap the potential of social entrepreneurship in helping us address plastic pollution in the Philippines.”