Insights from the RISE World Summit 2024: Roundtable on Navigating Circular Economy Challenges

The recent RISE World Summit 2024, hosted by our partners Idobro Impact Solutions, brought together founders from the current cohort of  CEC Catalyser and Accelerator programme 2023-24. 

The conversation, moderated by Thryza Dow, Idobro Impact Solutions, and featuring Daniel Monje and Camilla Shearman, adelphi and CEC team, highlighted the experiences of founders from current cohort of Accelerator and Catalyser programme across India and Kenya. Bare Necessities, Hexpressions, Go Do Good Studio Pvt Ltd, Craste, Botanic Treasures, and M-taka, as they shared glimpses into managing circular economy enterprises.

This roundtable aimed to foster collaborative learning and knowledge sharing among circular enterprises who face unique challenges compare to their traditional counter parts.  Here are some interesting insights from the discussions of the founders of circular enterprises. 

Overcoming Entry Barriers

Entrepreneurs discussed the challenges of introducing innovative products to the market. Shilpi Dua  for instance, shared her journey of developing paper-based construction material at Hexpressions and the uphill battle of challenging the perceptions of their B2B clients on material durability.  Khusboo Gandhi of Go Do Good  spoke about the struggle to shift consumer preferences away from conventional plastic packaging who perceive traditional plastic as a much reliable packaging material

Innovative Solutions and Reality Check

Elizabeth Mbogo opened up about Botanic Treasures strategy of addressing stigma in the African market by innovating with moringa-based products. Benson Abila founder of M-taka shared that the confidence of users wanting to use technology for managing their waste quickly vanished as the reality of the market dynamics were quite different from the impression he had initially received from the markets

On Balancing Scalability and Sustainability

All entrepreneurs emphasized their commitment to core values of sustainability as guiding north star while acknowledging the need for practical compromises. From managing cash flows for agri-workers, inconsistent quality of agri-waste to protecting intellectual property from manufacturers by patenting it, each decision impacts business growth.  Sahar also reflected on how her challenges of ensuring circular practices in supply chain led to meaningful partnership with companies and individuals who aligned with her principles of building a sustainable brand.

Leveraging Technology for startups 

Sahar Mansoor recommended digital tools like Shopify, Canva Magic, and Zoho for streamlining operations. Shubham Singh (from Craste) highlighted the importance of team comfort with technology and suggested tools like Chatgpt and RAZOR pay. Elizabeth suggested Sage and local POS systems for distribution and quality monitoring, reflecting the ongoing quest for innovation

About RISE World Summit

RISE World Summit (RWS) is one-of-a-kind convening of thought leaders, experts and visionary partners to influence outcomes and actions for the SDGs for the year ahead and beyond. The summit has hosted eminent thought leaders such as Amitabh Kant, Shompi Sharp, Prof. Philip Kotler, Cherie Blair, CBE, Ambassador Gideon Behar, Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, Prof. K. Vijay Raghavan, Cheryl Pinto, Yosef Abramowitz, Kiran Bedi, and over 150 partners - UNICEF, UNESCAP, UN Women, Babson, Glenmark, Vibha, OASA Hongkong, British Council, Rotary International, Save the children and many more. Beyond an Unconference, the RISE World Summit is unique, with no panels or presentations across 25+ formats in 3 distinctive sections - Forum, Fest and Tours.  RWS  has completed a decade of building SDG-linked ecosystems and pathways for collaborations. 

This RISE World Summit 2024 was a milestone 11th anniversary of Idobro’s effort to pioneer stakeholder engagement and was based on theme "Think Different, Act Together”.  It was held from 15th to the 20th of January 2024 to showcase global approaches around SDG, CSR, ESG, DEI, and Systems Thinking. A hybrid distributed event with both online and offline sessions across multiple countries and regions, the 11th edition of RISE World Summit 2024 brought together an incredible 8114 individuals from 81 countries for a series of 150 sessions facilitated by 125 global partners and led by 200 experts.